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alp227

(31,943 posts)
Thu Apr 19, 2012, 02:06 AM Apr 2012

David Cameron faces pressure as NHS waiting times grow

Patients are enduring increasingly long delays before having some of the most common forms of surgery, according to official data that casts serious doubt on David Cameron's pledge to keep NHS waiting times low.

New research by the Patients Association also shows that fewer patients are undergoing planned operations such as joint replacements, cataract removal and hernia repairs, as the NHS tries to make £20bn of efficiency savings at a time when demand for healthcare is growing.

A report from the association, based on information supplied by 93 of England's 170 acute hospital trusts, found that waiting times for a range of elective operations rose between 2010 and 2011.

The average wait before having a new knee fitted rose from 88.9 days to 99.2 days, while patients needing hernia surgery typically waited 78.3 days in 2011 compared with 70.4 the year before. The delay before the removal of gallstones increased over the same period, by 7.4 days, as did the delay before having a new hip (6.3 days longer), hysterectomy (three days) and cataract removed (2.2 days).

full: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/apr/19/david-cameron-pressure-nhs-waiting-times

For those in the UK who don't know, the Supreme Court in the US is hearing a challenge to the 2010 health care reform law signed by President Barack Obama. Basically this new law forbids insurance companies from excluding customers based on "pre-existing conditions" and requires all Americans to buy health insurance. The right wing in this country have been howling for the past 60+ years about "socialized medicine", which is why the US has been unable to create a real universal health care system. This story is only providing more red meat to the conservatives who will then copy and paste excerpts from this story and send those clips out in viral emails with the subject: "THIS IS WHAT OBAMACARE WILL BRING TO AMERICA".

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David Cameron faces pressure as NHS waiting times grow (Original Post) alp227 Apr 2012 OP
Its difficult not to relate dipsydoodle Apr 2012 #1
The reason for all this.. LeftishBrit Apr 2012 #2

dipsydoodle

(42,239 posts)
1. Its difficult not to relate
Thu Apr 19, 2012, 06:16 AM
Apr 2012

pre-existing conditions with insuring a car after an accident. Insurance rates cover the risk of the occurrence of an event. I can only imagine that for all pre-exisiting conditions to be covered that rates for all would increase universally. The alternative is to stop referring to what you've got as insurance.

If you want to compare against the UK - private cover here only extends to pre-existing conditions, if at all ,at higher premiums. Comparisons cannot be drawn in any shape or form against our NHS which is socialised healthcare providing cover for our entire population from conception to death.

LeftishBrit

(41,175 posts)
2. The reason for all this..
Thu Apr 19, 2012, 08:05 AM
Apr 2012

is that the NHS is cutting costs under pressure from a right-wing government, which is trying to semi-privatize the NHS to make it a bit more like America. It is not a consequence of 'socialized medicine'; it is a consequence of having a right-wing government. It should not be 'red meat' for conservatives. Rather, the situation in America should be 'red meat' for those in other countries who want to decrease the role of the state in favour of insurance companies.

By the way, British people can and sometimes do choose to 'go private' for healthcare, and to purchase private health insurance. The existence of the NHS does not preclude private insurance, but it makes it unnecessary for survival.

As someone with a pre-existing condition, which would make private insurance unaffordable for me, I am very glad that we do have an NHS!

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