February 22, 2005

Cost of Socialised Medicine

A 13-year-old boy from Scotland had been waiting since 2000 for important treatment to adjust his misaligned jaw. He was told that he would have to wait until 2006.

He has a condition in which his top jaw grows faster than his bottom jaw. He had been waiting since the age of 9. By the time he was 10 he could fit three fingers behind his upper teeth when he closed his mouth. He was expected to wait until he was 15.

His parents have been paying their taxes, including their National Insurance contribution, all along. That is, after all, the price of socialised medicine. Or at least for medical care in available specialities. Available on the NHS that is.

No longer willing to see their child suffer, they had to remortgage their home to cover the cost of the treatment. They had to pay £2,700 ($5,100) to be treated privately. The doctor who treated him may very well be the one who would have seen him for free in 2006. That is what often happens when people pay for private care in this country.

Posted by david at February 22, 2005 09:28 PM | TrackBack
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