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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| NHS To Give Up On That Whole 'Treating The Sick' Thing |
| 2008-01-28 |
| Doctors are calling for NHS treatment to be withheld from patients who are too old or who lead unhealthy lives. Smokers, heavy drinkers, the obese and the elderly should be barred from receiving some operations, according to doctors, with most saying the health service cannot afford to provide free care to everyone. Fertility treatment and "social" abortions are also on the list of procedures that many doctors say should not be funded by the state. The findings of a survey conducted by Doctor magazine sparked a fierce row last night, with the British Medical Association and campaign groups describing the recommendations from family and hospital doctors as "outÂrageous" and "disgraceful". About one in 10 hospitals already deny some surgery to obese patients and smokers, with restrictions most common in hospitals battling debt. Managers defend the policies because of the higher risk of complications on the operating table for unfit patients. But critics believe that patients are being denied care simply to save money. One in three said that elderly patients should not be given free treatment if it were unlikely to do them good for long. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #5 "One in three said that elderly patients should not be given free treatment if it were unlikely to do them good for long." You think health care is expensive now, wait 'till you see how much it costs once it's free. >:-( |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2008-01-28 21:52 |
| #4 They can put old people out on ice floes. Oh, wait ... global warming. |
| Posted by: DMFD 2008-01-28 19:29 |
| #3 Few realize that this common sense approach is already done to keep hospitals profitable. Many doctors will not do surgery on slow-to-heal-smokers, especially by-passes, the obese, or even the elderly as they often cannot survive the risks of anesthesia. "No Extreme Measures" are the norm in nursing homes as merely prolonging life regardless of quality is senseless. Fertility treatments at state expense is ridiculous; if you can't afford it you have no business having children you can't afford, especially when the risk of multiple births is so high! State-paid abortions, contraceptives, and vasectomies should be mandatory for those single parents on the dole after having 2 kids you can't support! The cost of medical care in Britain would go down considerably if they didn't give all immigrants generous benefits in the name of "human rights". Health care for citizens only, with digital oversight to eliminate fraud and abuse, is actually do-able, however. |
| Posted by: Danielle 2008-01-28 16:52 |
| #2 What about AIDS patients? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-01-28 16:52 |
| #1 Welcome to the future. |
| Posted by: Spot 2008-01-28 15:37 |