Hospital care: A case study in disparity
Photo courtesy of Eastern Daily Press 2011 Last weekend, a 90-year old man was rushed by helicopter to an NHS hospital in Cambridgeshire, after suffering chest pains. He had a blocked coronary artery, but was otherwise healthy. He was immediately admitted, operated on and discharged after four nights of exemplary care. Two weeks ago, an 89-year old man with severe kidney problems and breathing difficulties was rushed by ambulance to another NHS hospital, this time in South London. It took him hours to be seen, a male nurse told him to go home as "they needed the bed" and that "there was a bug". He was there for four days where the afore-mentioned infection made him sicker. He was finally discharged, none the better for his care. The differences between these two men? One was the Duke of Edinburgh, whilst the other was the father of a close family friend. Let's call him Michael*. I think you can guess which of them was cared for in NHS Papworth, Cambridgeshi...