There may be erratic blog posting and comment moderation over the next day or two.
My wife went into hospital yesterday. It's only appendicitis - and she hasn't been operated on yet (but is in a green gown right now).
But it does mean I have some other things to think about and hope you'll understand - even on a day when tax avoidance is much in the news.
But let me repeat a point I made on Twitter yesterday - at times like this you realise just how important the NHS is. All I need to think about is her (and child care). I have no need to worry about whether we can afford whatever is required.
That's why I fight for the NHS.
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Best wishes to your wife. What a good thing she waited until you got back from Helsinki 🙁
Good luck, Mrs M. Get well soon!
Best Wishes!
Best wishes to both of you.
My mother -98! -recently seven weeks in a rehabilitation hospital and the quality of NHS care was excellent.
I made sure they were told how good they were. The human touch is not easy to measure on “performance indicators” but is vital.
Successful op, speedy recovery, look after yourselves,
Well said Richard. Wishing your wife a speedy recovery.
I hope she’s ok.
But NHS care could be paid for by private insurance, and if you couldn’t afford basic cover then the State would pay it.
A similar system exist in Germany I believe, and their healthcare system runs at a surplus and their cancer survival rates (for example) are equal or better than ours on every count.
Clearly, they are onto something.
Sure it could be
At vastly increased cost – as is the case in Germany
Or exorbitantly more cost
As is the case in the US
That’s the price of the profit motive
Actually per the latest OECD data, Germany public health expenditure per capita is only 10% more than the UK’s. Yet has more than twice the doctors and hospital beds that the UK has, 4x the MRI scanner, performs 5x as many mammograms. It also has better cancer survival rates, lower hospital infections and lower mortality.
The NHS is good but certainly not the best or even the est value for money.
I think your stats are distorted: they do not include private payments?
But I agree: the UK could save masses on cutting out the farce of the internal market
Hope your wife makes a good recovery!
Best wishes to you, wife and the family at a stressful time.
Be glad you aren’t in Jersey – where the medics are pretty good, but it costs £35 to see a GP, which is a big hurdle for an awful lot of people…
Best wishes to your wife, yourself and your family, here’s hoping she makes a speedy recovery!
Best wishes to your wife on a speedy recovery.
Richard, please convey my best wishes for a speedy recovery to your wife.
Thanks to you and everyone who has conveyed good wishes
The issue is ongoing tonight….I’m learning a lot about appendicitis in a hurry
What is clear is it is agonising but has to be excruciating before they operate
Mine was removed at the age of 15 – but I’d suffered from a grumbling appendix for years before – I rememeber the discomfort very well – but I also remember the speedy recovery.
I wonder whether GPs make good patients ?
Re your last question: no
Emphatically
Just to let you know that I had appendicitis at the age of 12 and it was serious. I owe my life to the NHS.
Very best wishes to Mrs M and family.
Wishing your wife a speedy recovery!
A speedy recovery Mrs M!