S.M.

No, not Sado-Masochism, though it borders on it. I’m talking about Socialized Medicine. One of my favorite bugaboos this side of Global Warming.

So what’s the complaint this time? Just another example of how badly it works.

THE State Government is considering a proposal to lease “excess space” at the Prince of Wales Hospital to the private hospital next door.

After sidestepping the issue for weeks, South Eastern Sydney Illawarra Area Health Service confirmed it was looking at a plan by the Prince of Wales Private Hospital to have private beds in the public hospital’s cardiothoracic intensive-care unit.

The proposal was for a six-month lease to be renewed monthly for up to a year.

The public cardiothoracic unit had enough space for 12 beds but only ever had four or five due to a lack of funding, the director of cardiothoracic surgery at Prince of Wales Hospital, Dr Hugh Wolfenden, said.

Patients are having to wait up to three months for urgent heart surgery at St George Hospital, which is another of the area health service’s hospitals.

Gosh, why would they need to do that if the system worked so well? Why would the private hospital need excess space? Wouldn’t everyone want to go to the State hospital?
Hmmm?

I guess the answer is no. And why do you think that is? Oh, I know. Socialized Medicine sucks.  If you want an example, go to the Emergency room of any state funded hospital in the US and see how long the wait is. When I had to go to the hospital last year, they told me it was a six hour wait just to see me, even though I told them I thought I was having heart problems. And when I mean see me, I mean, to even talk to me.

So I walked over to the private hospital across the street and they saw me right away. And America is a lot better (despite what carny clowns like Michael Moore will tell you) than most other places.

All medical systems need and overhaul, including ours. But one thing’s for sure, people like Hillary, Obama and Kucinich, who want us to ape Canada or England have it all wrong. 

1. One of the crucial points about government health care (let’s call a spade a spade, not “single payer health” or some such fey locution) is that it operates on the “pie” economic basis.  That is, there is a limited “pie” of service and Watchful Guardians dole out pieces as they feel fit.
   Whereas private health care has no such limitations, operating as it does under free market rules.
   IMHO, that alone is enough to disqualify government health care from serious consideration.

   Posted by  on  09/02  at  02:02 PM
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