GOODY TWO SHOES: Socialized Medicine Good Enough For Thee, But Not For Me: British Healthcare Workers
Some animals really are more equal than others under socialized medicine. The Times of London reports that the National Health Service has spent £1.5m ($2.45 million) in taxpayer funds over the past three years to pay for private health treatment for more than 3,000 doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers so they can avoid the waiting lists their patients must endure:
“It simply isn’t fair to have one service for staff and another for everyone else,” said Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman, who obtained the figures.
“If the NHS has to circumvent their own waiting lists the system isn’t working well enough. It’s an admission by the NHS that their own system isn’t able to respond to the mass of people desperate to get back to work.” …
The health department defended the practice and said sending doctors, nurses and other key staff for private treatment helped to get them back to work. …
“There is evidence that early intervention in tackling sickness absence enables staff to return to work more quickly.
“Other benefits include: reducing the risk of chronic illness that could result in ill health retirement, cost-saving on temporary staff and having a positive impact on staff health and wellbeing and, in turn, patient satisfaction.”
Apparently, privately owned businesses in the U.K. wouldn’t also benefit from their workers getting back to their jobs more quickly so they can avoid the added expense of hiring temporary staff.
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