This one could have also gone on the "bloody foreigners" thread...

90% of hospitals fail to check on nurses' English before letting them work on wards

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... glish.html

But thought it's more appropriate on here...especially when you consider the whole article is based on a "study" by "The Patients Association":

http://www.patients-association.com/Def ... x?tabid=78

Looks like "The Patients Association" are increasingly becoming the Taxpayers Alliance of the NHS.

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"You may have heard the phrase, 'The flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil sets off a tornado in Texas.' Well, try this: 'The lies of a newspaper in London can get a bloke's head caved in down an alley in Bradford.' Richard Peppiatt

Not at all like the Taxpayers Alliance they at least say they're bank rolled by self serving pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies and private medical providers. Oh I see what you mean.........

On a personal note I have been in and out of hospital following an accident for the last 4 months, can safely say that I have had no problem understanding a single NHS employee and received excellent treatment and care.

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Wars of religion always make me laugh because basically you're fighting over who has the best imaginary friend.

Ah but that's because they've installed one of those lefty babel fish in you.
I too have had recent experience of the NHS and can't fault them except that their caution and care makes progress slower than I would like. Conversely, I wouldn't want to be treated by anyone as reckless and impatient as me.

Hope you make a speedy recovery Northerly.

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That subtle admixture of the absurd and the surreally plausible...

The Mail seems to be warming up for a fresh round of NHS bashing.

As a GP, I'm disgusted my greedy colleagues are threatening to strike

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/artic ... z1jzOslKcn

I don't suppose the author is the same Dr Martin Scurr who founded the Portobello Clinic, "a private medical practice, in Notting Hill". Something tells me he's unlikely to be an unbiased witness.

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"Fanaticism is the only form of willpower to which the weak minded and irresolute can rise."

He's fucking ordered us has he? Its a stupid idea which won't work and will end up with more paperwork. The trusts already doing this have found that one out. But then, this is t be expected what with nurses doctors and midwives all telling the govt that the health and social care bill should be scrapped. Theyre not going to pick on doctors because the BMA would tear the mail a new one and they pass the people like us test.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/artic ... z1kYv3tbeL
This was nearly a year ago. Read through to the end and it seems the family didn't complain to the hospital at the time.

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Sick Left-wing Zealot.

From the beginning of that article:

If I'd been called to hospital because a close relative was dying, I wouldn't feel the need to ask my husband's permission to stay.

Also another case of one personal incident which is used to discredit an entire arguement or institution. For example...

"The NHS is great."
"Well you say that, but there was this woman in the Mail..."

See also the drugs story yesterday.

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"Even when you're a super-computer with an IQ of 2000 it's brown trousers time."

Reclaiming "methinks" for the nation

Latest blog post - 2011 - a review (updated 07/10)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic ... z1oErOtGOO
Is that a dog whistle I can hear?

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Sick Left-wing Zealot.

I take it this is the sensible comment there:

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Changin' avatars like there's no tomorrow

I remember "£X,000 for slipping on a grape" being presented as a 'ludicrous' compensation amount in the mail before. As well as a techer getting a lot of money for being "hit with a ruler" by an unruly pupil. I know with the teacher one, it was an attack that included the teacher being hit repeatedly by a violent pupil with a metre long steel ruler. Not exactly a 'flick' with a 30cm shatterproof... That was just part of a more serious assault, by a pupil that the school had already been warned about, that left the teacher permanently disabled and unable to work due to (if I remember correctly) nerve/back damage.

But all they say is "teacher slapped with a ruler gets £150k". Same with the grape and potato stories. £4k for slipping on an innocuous food item sounds like a lot. But if he/she fell, shattered a wrist and was unable to work for 6 months, and suffered chronic pain for the rest of his/her life, then £4k isn't really that much. As for £10k for a cut finger.....just how much finger was left?! I doubt that's a small cut, to get £10k.

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The upper hand is on the other foot now.

That's what I'm thinking. We're just being told half of the story here.

I don't doubt there are a few people who have exploited it (the same with any system) but it's very easy to skew the figures to make it look bad.

And, of course, how many incidents go unreported? How many of those mentioned had been reported and not acted upon?

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Changin' avatars like there's no tomorrow

It could also be that the figures include costs for lawyers, probably not, but it could be. So a year of wrangling over a fairly minor issue ends up being expensive because the losing party has to pay the costs of the other side.

The NHS is not awash with money right now, no-one will be paying out anything that they don;t have to. So to suggest that these are a problem because the staff are NHS staff is naughty.

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The upper hand is on the other foot now.

In other words: DM publishes half-baked story in order to make the NHS look bad.

In other news: Bear found defecating in the woods.

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Changin' avatars like there's no tomorrow