richardhutnik said:
So, you are arguing that in a privatized system such errors don't happen? If they don't happen, then why is there a push on the GOP side for "Tort reform" so that fines paid for medical malpractice in courts is limited. One can then go and show clips from Sicko, for example, as a counterpoint: |
I never said that. But 1 in 5 people being prescribed potentially lethal drugs, on my money? A company that had such a poor rate would be shut down by either the markets, or some regulator... when the NHS does it, it'll be the front page of the newspaper for one day... and nothing else will come from it.
I've personally been wrongly diagnosed by the NHS, twice. It's only when I later went to a private hospital that I found out. One of my cousins was wrongfully diagnosed to have a certain condition, as a baby, the medications he was given as a result did not help. He spent two years on the wrong medication, and his health detoriated rapidly. After the hospital realised their mistake, they switched medication. But it was too late, his lifespan had dropped significantly. He died when he was 16. My granddad, when in hospital with a bowel condition was left in dirty bedding (as in, after he soiled himself) for hours. It was only when my mum started kicking off that the hospital did anything about it.
Private companies are by no means perfect, but if my family members had the choice of private hospitals, my cousin may be alive now, and my granddad might have been able to keep his dignity in a hospital bed.
I'd just like to point out that my local NHS services are also rated particularly highly. Other parts of the country are deemed much worse.
Also, I don't care about that Sicko documentary. He painted the NHS to be a pinnacle of healthcare, it isn't. He also wrongly calls the American system capitalistic, it isn't.
