NHS-In Need of Euthanasia?

I reckon it’s time for a serious blog, not the mishmash of general custard that was my previous blog. And the one thing that’s getting my goat is all this coverage and controversy about the NHS. Those US Republican lads have even put in their two cents (well, because they’re all rich from oil and stocks and a government wage, I’ll guess it’s a lot more than that). Once again the perennial war on healthcare that the Reds in the US love so much has risen from the depths. Another attempt to derail the O’Bandwagon...wagon. I meant train (but I’m sure it’s already of course-I mean, he’s done nothing since Day 1! Now that Hilary...if I knew my wife didn’t read this, I’d tell you what I thought of her...tasty!) Barack has done the inevitable and backed down to Republican mass hysteria on his proposal to give the public an option to choose a government or a private company healthcare insurance policy. He obviously watches too much Fox News...(or the fact that NO Republicans would vote for this in the Senate, and quite a few Democrats are unsure because their leaders has no guts.) And of course, those damned Tories are so confused about what line to take on this issue (as they are on pretty much any issue).

So I open the paper/read Google news today (I like to think I’m a modern man), and see a horrific title: ‘Woman in labour refused ambulance.’ ‘Jesus Christ’, I thought, and nearly spat out my imported Champ Elyse’s reduced fat chocolate butter croissant. If that’s what the NHS is doing nowadays, then maybe it should be shut down. However, reading on, this 27 year old woman was pregnant with her FOURTH child. Now, I don’t like prejudice, never have, never will, but obviously this women was a bit of a...well, you know, I don’t have to spell it out for you, do I? With Swine Flu, E.Coli making a return, amongst other things, the NHS shouldn’t have to deal with another lady looking to increase her child benefits.

That was not all that I read, however. The NHS is an issue Cameron cannot deal with, and doesn’t want to handle. However, it seems the rest of his party have some qualms with the NHS. ‘3 Top Tories Call For NHS To Be Dismantled,’ the headline screamed at me. I took a swig of cappuccino to digest this remark and scorched my throat. These ‘top 3’ are the Secretaries of State for Children, Energy, and Sport/Culture etc. They say that the NHS is no longer relevant. And I could not forget that stupid Tory MEP Hannan calling the NHS a ’60 year old mistake.’ Another Tory MP wittily referred to the NHS as the ‘National Sickness Service.’ That would make it the NSS, no? And note that this was on US TV, where Fox News has been alive with Republicans bashing the NHS. A right-wing conspiracy by two right-wing parties? It’s okay for those rich Tories, who’ve never earned anything in their life (Lord ‘Daddy’ provided their ways and means), to disparage the NHS. I bet most of those toffs nodded when Fox News asked the question: ‘NHS: Breeding Ground for Terrorism?’

Of course, today I use BUPA, but that’s only because I’m filthy rich. However, during my struggles to attain wealth beyond any mortal’s wildest dreams, I often relied on the NHS. It’s true that I owe my life to the NHS. I was Mother Sucrose’s fourth child and during the formative years of the NHS I had a terrible accident. Memory is hazy, but I remember my mum’s stall in East London collapsing on me. The market patrons rushed to my aid, and rang ‘919’ (the number back then for 999). After a blood transfusion, a kidney transplant, and the amputation of 3 fingers (which, under BUPA, I was able to replace), I was fine. And that’s all thanks to the NHS. My three adorable children were also born in an NHS hospital. Alain Sucrose III almost died because of premature birth. The NHS saved his life. Until Hamstrands really took off, I relied on the NHS like a walking stick (my children were/are very accident-prone). If I was in America, I would have died. Mother Sucrose and Father Sucrose were going through a difficult time financially, and neither believed in any kind of insurance (well, until I became an almost-billionaire, and then they expected me to pay for it. I did). I would have died under that market stall, in a heap of fruit and veg.

Just one more reason (among the plenty) not to vote for the toffs. Funny, I was reading the Oxford Dictionary today (in between reading the Financial Times and trying to contact Rupert Murdoch), and came across a word history of Tory. “ ‘Tory’ comes from Irish toraidhe or toridhe, meaning ‘outlaw’ or ‘robber’.” And that’s exactly what people would be voting in come the next General Election. The NHS has its problems, of course it does, like anything else, but I could not think of a better system to grace this isle. Beveridge would be rolling in his grave at the prospect of a US-like health system. That kind of system certainly doesn’t fight off the Five Evils of 'Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor and Idleness'. However, they perfectly describe the Tory Party.