BizzyBlog notes a horror story of nationalized health care in the UK.

I detract nothing from that horror story, for it……

Still, you guys have got to consider that we will never get to this pass in the U.S., and this case will show why: when the govt is in charge of all health care, the ability to sue and receive damages is severely reduced.

Yup, the hated personal injury/tort lawyers will save us from this particular nightmare scenario.

It’s nice to know they’re good for =something=

Have training and other areas been so starved for so long that NHS still employs practices that date back to the 1970s (or earlier)?

Or are state-paid doctors so demotivated that they do not take steps to keep up with news developments — for DECADES?

A couple of commenters at the Daily Mail link raised the same question.

That’s all; just a finger cut?! Why did he need general anesthesia at all? At most, a local anesthestic would seem enough. Okay, it was a ‘deep gash’, but “I was expecting they’d stitch Tony’s finger back up and we’d be home in time for dinner.” They waited overnight, so it couldn’t have been too bad a gash. In the morning, they still “thought it was just a case of ..a few routine stitches.” Why a general anesthesia, and with a tube rather than just a mask, full to sleep rather than awake with a local anesthesia (like when the dentist numbs only one part of your mouth)? Was it really cost-cutting as the problem or out-dated practices and basic incompetence? Sounds like a local anesthesia ,and then also parent could have stayed in the room with the child. I’ve had stitches multiple times, including one a very deep gash, always stitched up with me still awake. Had a general anesthesia only once, but they sure gave you a lot of disclaimers about the risks before hand. Very very sad and disturbing.

Let’s remember this the next time we are told that the USA spends too much (14%) of our GNP on healthcare.

We’ll spend as much as we please, thank you very much, because we can, and it’s our money and we demand not to die for stupid reasons.

In a nutshell, a doctor screws up, re-uses surgical equipment, a boy dies as a result, and there are no consequences because “everybody does it.” Bottom line — there are no funds for new equipment….