Take Obama's advice, and risk your life. Recall also that uberliberal Paul Krugman at the NYT got this rude awakening at a meeting regarding Canada's single-payer system:A MUM suffering chest pains died in front of her young son hours after being sent home from hospital and told to take painkillers.
Debra Beavers, 39, phoned NHS 24 twice in two days before getting a hospital appointment. But a doctor gave what her family described as a cursory examination lasting 11 minutes, before advising her to buy over-the-counter medicine Ibuprofen.
Family members claim the medic was abrupt and rude - and when Debra clutched her chest, he told her: "Your heart is on the other side."
Seven hours later, the mum-of-two collapsed and died from a heart attack in front of her 13-year-old boy.
Debra's furious family insist she could have survived, had medics not been so "dismissive". They believe she should have been given medicine which could unblock a coronary artery.
Her sister Darlene McConnell said: "We are heartbroken. She tried to get help but no one would help her."
...She rang NHS 24 again at 2am and requested a doctor. They instead booked an appointment for her at Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, later that day.Darlene, 44, said: "We now think Debra was actually having a heart attack around the time she telephoned NHS 24. I spoke to her on Sunday morning and she said the pains were so bad, she thought she was going to die.
"She went to the hospital as arranged at 1pm and was back out in minutes. The doctor told her to go home and take Ibuprofen.
"He also told her she had probably 'racked' her chest due to coughing. She went to a relative's house nearby and lay on the settee in complete agony until she had a seizure around 8pm."
A spokeswoma for NHS Fife said: "We would like to express our condolences. NHS Fife's duty to uphold patient confidentiality prevents us from making any comment on an individual case."
So Canada's single-payer health care system is bad. Britain's, however, is far worse, if this short list from Doug Ross @Journal is any indication:
NHS 'failings' over elderly falls: 3/25/2009 [BBC]Yikes! Much, much more at the link. Also, keep in mind that Britain's NHS is the 3rd largest employer. IN THE WORLD! More bureaucrats than doctors. Just as Bit politician Daniel Hannan:
Learning disabled 'failed by NHS': 3/24/2009 [BBC]
Cancer survivor confronts the health secretary on 62-day wait: 3/21/2009 [The Scotsman]
Culture of targets prevents nurses from tending to patients: Patients Association, 3/21/2009 [Telegraph UK]
Children being failed by health system, says head of watchdog: Sarah Boseley, 3/21/2009 [Guardian Unlimited]
Our cancer shame: Survival rates still lag behind EU despite spending billions: 3/20/2009 [Daily Mail(UK)]
Failing hospital 'caused deaths': 3/17/2009 [BBC]
Health gap drive 'wasted money': 3/14/2009 [BBC]
Longer GP opening hours branded wasteful 'PR exercise' by doctors: 3/13/2009 [The Scotsman]
"Political meddling" threatens general practice, warns GP leader: 3/13/2009 [Management in Practice (UK)]
Children at risk through lack of training for doctors and nurses, report warns: 3/13/2009 [Telegraph UK]
Chocolate should be taxed to control obesity epidemic, doctors are told: 3/13/2009 [Telegraph UK]
1,000 wait for a dentist after just one NHS practice opens: 3/10/2009 [Daily Mail(UK)]
Study proves the folly of NHS Alzheimer's drug ban: 3/7/2009 [Daily Mail(UK)]
NHS charges to rise in England: 3/5/2009 [BBC]
Disabled children wait up to two years for wheelchairs: 3/4/2009 [Guardian Unlimited]
NHS under fire over waiting times: 2/25/2009 [The Scotsman]
Specialist nurses 'vastly overworked': 2/20/2009 [Harwich & Manningtree Standard]
Hundreds of operations cancelled at Lothian hospitals: 2/19/2009 [The Scotsman]
Stop asking for antibiotics to cure coughs and colds, Government tells patients: 2/17/2009 [Daily Mail(UK)]
Stroke services are 'UK's worst' : 2/17/2009 [BBC]
Hospitals curb caesarean births: 2/15/2009 [The Times]
Obama answered her question in that first video, in his usual non-answer-type rhetoric: She wouldn't have gotten squat because "maybe" it wouldn't make things better (although NOT having it DEFINITELY would have made things worse).
ReplyDeleteThis story about this young lady is infuriating, and that doctor needs to be stripped of his license immediately. Angina and anginal equivalents can happen in the left OR right side of the chest, back, stomach, neck, and jaw; they may be chest pains, pressure, aching, squeezing, or even just shortness of breath. Just because her heart's not on the right side doesn't mean she wasn't having heart pains. DUH.
If you strip him of his license, you'll have to do so to most doctors over at NHS as well. On second thought, what would the difference be in that case anyway. The British population already have a universal lack of healthcare.
ReplyDelete