If you really want to see a story that just about sums up the rot that lies of the heart of the NHS as highlighted by Daniel Hannan, then you couldn't possibly do worse than read this heart-wrenching storyFor those of you that don't live in the South-East, the Queen's Hospital in Romford is frequently held up as flagship hospital by those that seek to show just how great the NHS has become under the Labour government.
True enough, it's quite an impressive building and I'm sure the architects and building firm made a pretty penny during the build. But this building, more than most, is proof positive that Labour's approach to the NHS is all style over substance.
Walking into Queen's Hospital is almost like walking into a top European hotel. To your left is a coffee bar, and to your right is a large restaurant and a small newsagents. The lobby features a grand piano (?) and numerous works of art, and you are led into a large central area with a very swish escalator leading to the wards, whilst a large (but understaffed) reception area remains completely underused - I would have thought a few more beds wouldn't go amiss.
But as the story above shows, once again we are witness to Labour's smoke and mirrors. A beautifully built hospital that had no midwives. A mother left to give birth in a well-polished toilet. An NHS that has patently become a case of style over substance.
When people criticise Daniel Hannan's criticism of the NHS, make sure you point them to this story and ask them if this is what they love so much!
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Indeed. What makes this story so terrible is the compulsion. These people had no choice, the quality of their care is chosen for them by politicians, and they are told to pay. That makes the politicians responsible for each individual heartache like this, yet they do not accept that responsibility.
15 August 2009 at 01:52Ahh, good old Queens (well, not old, actually. Quite new).
15 August 2009 at 06:18The beautiful new centre designed so badly, my wheelchair bound neighbour couldn't get in for the first few months due to various design faults.
There are many, many problems with it. Signage, for one. Capacity, for another. And like most of the NHS, bureacracy risks lives.
It's not too wonderful for the staff either...
Good grief. If you or I had been there, we'd've helped, regardless of our lack of medical training.
15 August 2009 at 07:54It seems that the attitude of the staff is as much a problem at that hospital as anything else.
That mirrors all my experiences with NHS hospitals.
And the NHS employs 1.4 million in total? The way Cameron and Brown have reacted to this, I can't help wondering that someone, somewhere is really making tons of money from the NHS existence
15 August 2009 at 12:24Walking into Queen's Hospital is almost like walking into a top European hotel. To your left is a coffee bar, and to your right is a large restaurant and a small newsagents. The lobby features a grand piano (?) and numerous works of art, and you are led into a large central area with a very swish escalator leading to the wards….
15 August 2009 at 19:47I don’t think the similarity to hotel is accidental. A pal of mine was fairly senior in the construction of Worcester Royal Hospital under a PFI scheme. The site is close to a motorway junction and the building owner specified that it should be capable of rapid conversion into hotel accommodation should a wheel fall off the PFI money-train or to provide a ready disposal avenue at the end of the contract.
What got up my nose this week was how everyone jumped on the 'Isn't the NHS Wonderful?' bandwagon: People in this country are totally ignorant, ignorant of the other systems of healthcare delivery available. Most people simply assume we have the NHS or mirror the American system; which no sane person would advocat.
16 August 2009 at 10:38We should do is look at European countries like France and Germany which operate 'social insurance'. Yes you have private medical insurance which puts you the patient in the driving seat, but unlike the US the premium is split between the employer, the individual and the government. There are no waiting lists, better outcomes, and survival rates for things like cancer, and no dirty hospitals!
If you're out of work then the government pays your premium in full. Everyone gets healthcare, and everyone gets a choice.
But no over here we are wed to the NHS. People complain about dirty hospitals (like the one my mum ended up in) waiting lists, and lack of patient choice and power, but when those horwid horwid beastly Americans criticise it's failings (admittedly some of the criticism was unfair) we become ever so British: Get a life and grow up!
Amen @ anonymous...
16 August 2009 at 11:11Post a Comment