Tuesday, 25 February 2014

Why have there been so many preventable deaths of patients on surgical waiting lists ?

“Cold Anger” is no answer to Reasoned Criticism

‘Prudent Healthcare’ is becoming a new disguise for a continued policy of “We’ll carry on shrinking your NHS Wales, regardless of who ( or what organisation ) criticises us.” Even when the criticisms are supported by factual evidence and, therefore, fully justified, our government stoically maintains that “We know best”. There is no defence that can be put forward that justifies the selective destruction of our NHS facilities, over the past 13 years, to the detriment of our citizens and their wellbeing.  Consequently, the Minister’s arguments against essential enquiries ( into failing healthcare ) are nonsensical, like a bellicose child who stamps his feet, sucks his thumb, occasionally screaming “I’m NOT changing, so there !”

Of course, it’s unfair to compare an inexperienced bureaucrat like Prudence Drakeford to a child, simply because a child learns from his mistakes, whereas our Minister and the government do not.  This is evidenced by the fact that decisions on the future of the NHS in Wales are made by our government which is – collectively and individually – incompetent .Nothing they consider is as a result of a detailed assessment of the needs of our population or the manner in which that population changes.

Doctors ( they’re the healers, incidentally ) rarely play any part in deciding on what changes are needed to best serve the majority of the population all of the time. Ridiculously, their position in our system of healthcare has been usurped by mindless bureaucrats who see our future dependent on policy documents that say little, are -in practice – useless as udders on a bull, and are unenforceable in law.  No, our country has been taken over by bureaucratic bully-boys who act like bailiffs recovering our human rights from us, whilst managing us like a herd of sheep.

Sir Bruce Keough's e-mail to Dr Chris Jones, Medical Director NHS Wales expresses his concern over the mortality rates at Welsh hospitals and the worrying increase in waiting times for elective surgery and also the high numbers of patients waiting more than 36 weeks for a first appointment with a hospital consultant.  This is the communication which has sent our health minister into his 'cold rage' However, when we consider that the same minister refused to hold a public enquiry into the Royal College of Surgeon's damning report on the avoidable deaths of patients awaiting Cardiac surgery,we are entitled to ask why he is so upset.  He would say that he asked for two internal reviews, but can't explain why reports on these 'reviews' have not yet been published by The Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee, or the Cardiac Surgery Working Group. In fact, to say that his 'reviews' are a tad overdue would be typical of the contempt shown to patients and their relatives by their NHS. Personally speaking, I doubt whether either report will do anything to reassure cardiac patients awaiting their surgery but then I'm an incurable cynic in the latter stages of Heart Failure.

I await the reports with mild interest.   R.   W.


No comments:

Post a Comment