Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Update

Yes, it's been a bit quiet over the past few days as I have been busy. Sorry about that.

Certain sections of the media are getting their knickers in a twist over tha case of a women who has been awarded £2.8m in compensation after am ambulance arrived late, and as a reuslt of a litany of medical cock-ups, will spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair with brain damage. On the face of it this does not seem unreasonable, although the call-out came beacause she attempted suicide. The tone of certain media reports suggests that the payout is unfair in the light of this fact, and that the NHS (ie. the taxpayer) is footing the bill.

I beg to differ on both points.

If the call-out had come as a result of any other ailment, the same cock-ups could have occurred. Should ambulances start prioritising arriving at call-outs depending on tne likely cause of the call? How? 'If you are calling because you are genuinely ill, press one. If you have tried to top yourself, please hold.'

Secondly, on the grounds that the NHS is paying out. It is worth pointing out that we are all paying for NHS care so we should get compensation if their intervention and/or negligence results in damage to us. If a private surgeon botched your nosejob, you'd want paying, yes?

Blog of the week: Small Town Scribbles. Great stuff, particularly on the burka issue.

Putative new mammal species spotted in Borneo. Exciting stuff, as new large (as in, non-microscopic species) are not easy to come by.

UPDATE: More on the IPOD issue here; hat tip to Blognor Regis.

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