Earlier I wrote about a report on NPR radio that tried to show the superiority of Britain's National Health Service to the US system of healthcare. The NPR piece offered a flimsy argument based on the experiences of one patient in the UK and one in the US. Within a few days, an article in the Daily Mail detailing how 30,000 patients had been left "starving" on NHS wards showed how foolish NPR's piece was.
Today I encountered another item from the UK in the same vein. Check this out:
Figures released by the Conservatives show that 70% of NHS Trusts brought in pest controllers at least 50 times between January 2006 and March 2008.
Vermin were found in wards, clinics and even operating theatres. A patients' group said the situation was revolting....
One had wasps in a neo-natal unit, and flying ants on the main wards, while another reported rats in their maternity unit, and wasps in operating theatres.
A children's A&E was infested with flies, and main wards were also home to mice, silverfish, biting insects and beetles.
Other common problems included bedbugs, fleas and cockroaches.
Apparently the bugs aren't starving.
The US "system" has problems, but I don't believe you'll ever have to worry that your newborn might be stung by a wasp, or that you'll wake up to find a roach checking you out. Again I wonder, where does NPR get off foisting such garbage on its listeners? -- and why do NPR's listeners think of themselves so highly for swallowing it?
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