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hello, i'm the devil and there's a deep blue sea over there, what's your choice?
I was reading the excellent Spanglemonkey tonight and found the article about the Canadian health system fascinating as I had no idea that it was actually illegal to seek private medical treatment. I completely agree with this law if the system provides timely care to patients (which sadly it appears not to) and would extend this ban on private services to education too. Health and education are too important to allow some people to get first dibs because they have money and not because they are in greater need. I have been saying this since I was about 14 and thought I'd carry on saying it until I was at least 94.
I have never actually had any private medical treatment and never planned to, until I found out from my doctor today that I cannot get a recommended early diagnostic test on the NHS in my area and would need to pay another NHS hospital to test me, or go to a private clinic. Now I don't have anything really very wrong with me, but this test would pick up any problems at an early stage and allow for less intrusive treatment, or would just reassure me that things were ok. It costs about £90, much less than Slinky's vet bill, but prohibitively expensive if you were in receipt of state benefits.
I have to say that there was no real dilemma for me, I'm having the test. And this is why I hate a two tier health system, because if I really need to, I will take advantage and who likes knowing they're a big fat hypocrite who junks their principles at the first sign of trouble?
mrs mcmuffin on 11 Jun 2005 @ 01:04 AM ✲ Permalink
Comments
Glad to hear the new job is going well and that dear Slink is on the mend!
Posted by: Norah | 11 Jun 2005 10:41:38
You will be forgiven, oh Mrs McMuffin, through the hard work involved in converting another ten capitalist infidels to the ways of socialism.
And good luck with the test - I hope it puts your mind at rest.
(Don't forget to convert those capitalist infidels!)
Posted by: David (TEFL Smiler) | 11 Jun 2005 11:35:35
I used to go through that all the time. Now I live in a country where private health insurance is not a luxury but a necessity as the public health system stinks. And I see those who can't afford private health treatment get the short end of the stick. So socialist principals effevtively go out the window. But, as David says, you can bend your principals as long as you continue to fight to get them realised.
Posted by: Alistair | 13 Jun 2005 03:14:28
I'm curious about your opposition to private education, especially in the context of what I've been reading about the hub-bub in Scotland over whether schools like Fettes will be pulled off the charities list. I wouldn't argue that good public education is imperative -- it's critical to a functioning democracy, at a minimum. But does that automatically imply that there can be no privately provided education? Would your concern be that the existence of an alternative reduces public pressure to provide quality state-provided education?
Posted by: Colin | 20 Jun 2005 20:23:55
I don't have a well thought through position here, I'm afraid, more of a knee jerk response! I think you've pretty much covered my concerns around the provision of an alternative system of education in that it allows the privilege of opting out for the wealthy (or in Tory speak, hard working and saving middle class parents) and I think education is too crucial to become a lottery for children based on parental wealth or parental choice. However, given my propensity to hypocrisy this is unlikely to be my final word!
Posted by: mrs mcmuffin | 20 Jun 2005 22:37:43
Interesting... I don't know if I would call it hypocrisy. I've been watching my wife wrestle with similar concerns -- she's the product of excellent public (in the American sense) schools, whereas after a brief stint in the local primary school I've been "privately" educated (partly for expat reasons in Holland and then to avoid repeating years in the US).
Anyway, our local school system is a disaster -- there are 5 decent primary schools out of 100, one of which decent ones will be the one our daughters go to... but the toddler is showing signs of being brighter than most, and now the wife's fear is that she will get bored in an environment that doesn't cater to kids at either end of the Bell curve... So all of a sudden we're talking about private schools (knowing that they are really out of reach) or falling into the classic US middle class trap of moving into a "better" catchment area for a better system. Pretty unappetising either way and certainly expensive...
The point of that ramble being that it's amazing how one's principles become more flexible when there's something more personal at stake, which goes back to the point of your initial post.
Posted by: Colin | 21 Jun 2005 15:10:07
