"15 babies poisened by nhs drips" -fuming!

[Pippa1703]

This is such a sad story and my heart goes out to those families so much, id be a crumpled mess if anythong like that happened to my Greyson, not to mention angry,
But here is the media using the story to make the nhs look like the bad guys for their own bull**** propaganda!

The NHS didnt make those drips, a trillion dollar pharmaceutical company did. The same trillion dollar pharmaceutical company that owns the media and wants to own the nhs via privatisation. Make the nhs look disgraced, people get angry and votes for the likes of bloody ukip out of a combined mixture of frustration and ignorance and boom! Result for the greedy corporate w***ers...

It makes me so angry to see these babies families being used in this way and they, along with most people, dont even see it!!

 

[mylullaby]

Totally agree Pippa. I thought your post was going to be a rant about the NHS and was ready for a brawl (kinda!) It's such a heart-wrenching story and it's absolutely despicable that the Farage Brigade use media crud like this as fodder to scare people into thinking the NHS are the bad guys.

Unless you're a white, middle-class male - with no female relatives, no elderly relatives and no disabled relatives - you will be far worse off under a UKIP government. Bad enough that they're getting a greater voice through more local/MEP seats, etc.

The NHS is by no means perfect but we're SO lucky to have it. It has saved the lives of lots my loved ones and cared for others to ensure that even when there was no hope for a recovery, they were dignified and comfortable until the end. I am completely terrified at the prospect of privatisation... paying to give birth (paying more if you have a c-section or there are complications) paying to have a broken leg/hip/arm fixed, paying for treatment for a heart attack/stroke/diabetes/cancer/brain haemorrhage... paying to take my child to A&E. What about the people who can't pay? I know you get insurance to cover it, but what about the people who can't afford/don't have the right insurance? Who are treated in an emergency and then have to sell their home and move their family to pay the medical bill? What about them? Doesn't even bear thinking about.

I hate hearing stories like this. Partly because they're so utterly heartbreaking and partly because of the message they send out about the NHS. My vote will always go to Labour. Inventors and protectors of the NHS. (Even if Ed is a bit funny-looking!)

 

[Pippa1703]

He looks like a wallace and gramit character....
But well said. There a small party called the NHA, but you can only vote for them in London, theure dedicated to keeping the nhs in the hands of the public, if I could vote for them I would!
Farage is another right wing nazi, have him in power and soon enough we'll be at war, and what is war good for? Profit, that's bloody what.

I could rant about this for hours but I look at my son and im genuinely frightened for hus future when I see that this is where this country is going

 

[mylullaby]

Haha! Funny eyes and a play dough-type head/face. Nowhere near as bad as Cameron's shiny forehead though. Or Farage's blatant racism/homophobia/bigotry.

I know what you mean, but generations after generations have said that about fearing for their children's future and they get do through it somehow. Change will always happen - not always for the best - but you'll adapt and raise your son the best you can under the circumstances you find yourself in. All we can do is make our votes count and hope that those in power do the right thing.

I can't really comment on the war as I still voted for Labour when we went to war under their government. Didn't necessarily agree with it, but it didn't stop me supporting them overall. No government can please everyone, but I do believe in fairness and that means access to healthcare and education for all - not just high earners. Look what the privatisation of British Rail did for the UK rail network - it's utter shite with delays and cancellations, etc up down the country - and all because private companies are there to make a profit rather than provide a service. Frustrating if you rely on trains, but nothing in comparison to the same thing happening within our healthcare system. I want the focus to be on patient welfare, not on profit. If people think things are bad with our current NHS, they're in for a fucking shock if/when they find out what the alternative is.

It's just so sad that a story about a baby dying has been plastered all over the media under the guise of public interest when it's yet another case of rushing to criticise the NHS's failings without actually checking the facts.

 

[naomip]

Since having Leo, absolutely anything even remotely sad, involving babies means I break down in tears. So sad, I can't imagine what the poor families are going through x

 

[Pumpkin9]

Think you may be slightly exaggerating with the propaganda thing. The BBC has clearly reported that it was a company outside of the nhs that supplied the product that was used.

I would also in the flip side argue that despite it being a highly valued institution there's plenty of dead wood that could be cut out and the point of privatisation is most likely to achieve this. Not saying I agree with it mind you but I wouldn't say it has necessarily be reported incorrectly either.

 

[Pippa1703]

The underlying information isnt always relevant, the headline says it all. Privatisation wont make the NHS service and better for the public, you just need look at the trains, look at the post office, the public has seen no benefit in efficiency in these sectors, just a hole in the public pocket and it'll be the same with the nhs. Not saying its not a flawed system now, there's a lot of pointless jobs and people and a lot of undervalued people too. (Of those already undervalued people, a huge portion will be fired and rehired on 0hr contracts, practically slave labour!) With profits as the new incentive over care, how can it possobly be better??

 

[Pumpkin9]

I didn't realise the postal service had for so bad in the few months since it had be privatised? Can't ever remember the trains being that great either.

Like I said I don't necessarily agree with it but i can't see how it can get much worse. Personally I think most of the nhs's issues lie with the users. People not turning up for appointments, misusing services, not looking after their health just binging on alcohol, smoking etc.. The cost of all that is huge and would make a massive difference in other areas of the system if redeployed.

 

[Pippa1703]

the postal service has not got better either, just 3+ times more expensive. My friend used to send a package to her family in Canada every week for a tenner, now it cost her £56 for the same service. If ahe cant afford it, which she cant, then its just tough.

As for misusing the service, no matter what you do to the nhs, the clientele isnt going to change, theres nothing you can do about that, people will always drink and smoke
Its the private companies that are killing the nhs, the ones already contracted to work within the nhs that effectively pick and choose who they help depending on profit. They leave the expensive stuff for the nhs and take the quick easy profits from the nhs, and then people wonder why the nhs is suffering.
Private services currently tend to offer low risk, quick and cheap operations, so for instance they could take on all the cataract surgery and make megabucks,*which is whats currently happening which is costing the nhs because they no longer have those financial buffers but still have the expensive surgeries to pay for (and the cost and care for failed private service operations!)

So if the entire nhs wrre privatised, when the private service also has to pay for the expensive service, do you think theyre going to want to accept a high risk, high cost case?? Your leg could be hanging on by a thread and you'll be told to walk it off. Got an ingrowing toenail? Oh, well step right in! Cha-ching!
I probably sound a bit over the top, but its an issue I feel very strongly on and have spent a lot of time researching and reading becaise frankly I find it pretty ludicrous

 

[mylullaby]

Even if you don't agree that privatisation has made a service worse Pumpkin, surely you can see that it hasn't helped to improved them? Privatisation promises "increased efficiency" but rarely results in a better service for end users. I certainly haven't noticed improvements where British Rail/Royal Mail/BT/British Gas are concerned, have you? Increased costs? Yes. Nice big fat profits for shareholders? Definitely. A better service for me? Not so much.

So going by that experience, privatisation of the NHS would mean paying for treatment (more money = better care) and mass unemployment (for "efficiency") and we'd still have the problems that we have now - mistakes, restrictions, concerns, etc.

Labour politician, Aneurin Bevan, once said: "No society can legitimately call itself civilised if a sick person is denied medical aid because of a lack of means." And I absolutely agree. Universal healthcare should be a basic human right, whether we live in prosperous suburbs or run-down inner-city areas.

Pippa is right - the disclaimer that it was a company outside the NHS that supplied the product is not always going to be effective after the attention-grabbing headline. And the BBC is naturally much more neutral than print and other media. For example...
Sky news: Newborn Dies As NHS Drips 'Poison 15 Babies'
Channel 4 News: Baby dies from infected drip in NHS hospital
Metro: Baby dies after being put on contaminated drip at NHS hospital

Fine if you keep reading and check the facts, but if all you do is glance at headlines while you're browsing online or queuing for your lottery ticket, then before long there's a chance you'll get the message that you'd be better off without the NHS. This simply wouldn't be true for the majority of people.

FWIW, I've seen a few headlines about this story now and I still don't know the name of the company who supplied the product! So definitely a case of damaging the NHS's reputation without the same impact for the supplier.

 

[Ella1979]

The whole story makes me feel really sick and so incredibly sorry for the parents. Our daughter was in special care and I remember they tried a number of times to get a line in to give nutrition that way (failed and in the end she had adequate nutrition through an NG tube), so it's been especially chilling to hear of the contamination.