Luke’s Big Day Out

Posted on September 30, 2009 by bobpiper

Congratulations to comrade Akehurst who overcame adversity to get on the stage at Brighton and extoll the virtues of OUR NHS.

Hundreds of people helped care for me, but I always felt that all of them cared for me as a person.
And thank goodness that in our country if you need five months in hospital with incredibly expensive care and treatment, you are assessed on your need, not on your credit card. And you are treated by people who are motivated by public service….
…I can’t begin to tell you the boiling anger I felt when I lay in my hospital bed and read that Tory MEP Daniel Hannan was parading round the TV studios of America attacking our NHS and the people who work in it. I pity that man if he cannot see what a wonderful institution the NHS is. And I pity David Cameron if he allows those kind of repugnant views to be promoted by a leading member of his party.
…As a patient I have experienced a system that we should all be very proud of.
A service created by Labour, opposed by the Tories, embodying Labour values of solidarity and community.
I know the NHS really is worth fighting for.
So thank you Labour for the NHS.
Thank you Gordon Brown for the massive NHS investment over the past 12 years which would only ever be possible with a Labour Government.
And thank you NHS for giving me my life back.”

This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.

3 Responses to Luke’s Big Day Out

  1. Liam Murray says:
    October 1, 2009 at 8:07 am

    Were they able to all those who died of MRSA might have a different view from Luke (deaths from MRSA in private sector = 0).
    Hannan was a prat because he misrepresented the NHS, used stats & anecdotes that supported his view and ignored those that didn’t. Luke does the same thing just in support of the opposite view. They both deserve to dismissed in favour of those who understand balance and complexity; without which anything on the NHS (Luke’s story included) is just so much hot air.

    Reply
  2. Bob Piper says:
    October 1, 2009 at 9:40 am

    Liam, where do you get your data in respect of private sector deaths from MRSA? I hope you are not relying on the likes of the Mail or the Telegraph.
    Morbidity statistics around Hospital Acquired Infections have been notoriously unreliable because of the way in which the cause of death is recorded, and where the patients actually die. For instance, a significant number of those who die from MRSA are actually registered as dying at home… but clearly that wasn’t where they acquired the infection.
    Finally, I wouldn’t minimise the seriousness of the problem of NHS HAI’s. But you have to ask yourself which government’s policy of squeezing NHS funding, and forcing cleaning contracts to go out to the cheapest bidder under compulsory tendering, actually led to the situation in the first place.
    Knowing the price of everything… and the value of nothing, as the saying goes.

    Reply
  3. Liam Murray says:
    October 1, 2009 at 11:42 am

    On the iPhone so will source the statistic later Bob – my point is that ludicrous “NHS is beyond fault” ra-ra is as dangerous as Hannan’s nonsense.
    True friends of the NHS should ignore both…

    Reply