In a new atrocity from the horror show that is the British NHS, a British man is denied medical care because he is too old:
When Kenneth Warden was diagnosed with terminal bladder cancer, his hospital consultant sent him home to die, ruling that at 78 he was too old to treat. Even the palliative surgery or chemotherapy that could have eased his distressing symptoms were declared off-limits because of his age.
The NHS sentenced this man to death, and wouldn’t even treat his suffering. Universal coverage does not mean universal access.
But don’t worry, nothing like that could ever happen here. . .
POSTSCRIPT: The story actually has a happy ending, but it’s one that makes the NHS’s judgement even worse. After the man was denied care by the socialized medicine system, she man’s daughter paid to send him to a private doctor:
Thanks to her tenacity, Kenneth got the drugs and surgery he needed — and as a result his cancer was actually cured. Four years on, he is a sprightly 82-year-old who works out at the gym, drives a sports car and competes in a rowing team.
So the NHS wanted to leave this man to die who actually could be saved. Lesson: if you want to get better, you need to be in charge of your medical care, not the government.
Unfortunately, not many people can afford to do what the man’s daughter did. When you’re already paying for “universal” medical care, most people can’t afford to pay a second time for private care. Moreover, under the Canadian system (which Democrats want to enact here), it’s not even allowed.
Internet Scofflaw 