Socialized Medicine Kills

Good Morning, Breakfastpoppers. Today is Sunday, April 29, 2018. Our noisy friend, Chiquita Cicada, is at the stove preparing hot coffee and raisin coffee cake for breakfast. Chiquita has asked for the pleasure of your company this morning. She is mourning the tragic death of Alfie Evans, a 23-month-old toddler who died at the hands of socialized medicine in the UK. The world watched as his embattled parents desperately tried to get medical care for their child. Be careful what you wish for.

Thanks so much for coming to the breakfast table this morning. Alfie Evans died, a victim of socialized medicine in the U.K. His parents, Tom and Kate fought long and hard to keep their son alive. They were at odds with doctors and a system that decided little Alfie was better off dead. They were not free to remove their child from the hospital. In effect, he was held prisoner by a system that not only failed Alfie, but is failing all U.K. citizens. Can you imagine what a parent must feel like being told by the government that their child must die? The hospital staff at the Adler Hey Children's Hospital disagreed with Alfie's parents over the direction of his treatment. The hospital opted to remove the toddler's life support system, and by doing so they moved to remove the parent's parental rights. Judges in the U.K. agreed with the decision to end Alfie's life. There was another avenue of hope for the little boy. Italy had offered to take the child in, make him a citizen and treat him. Again, the U.K. denied his rights. It is apparent that they wanted to end little Alfie's life, and that is exactly what they did by refusing to allow the family to leave. This is a perfect example of a government's belief that it can decide the issue of life and death. Welcome to socialized medicine at its worst. Be careful what you wish for.

Socialized medicine is not the answer to healthcare. Britain's Nationalized Health System is failing. Proponents of socialized medicine in our country could learn a thing or two if they study the U.K. The situation in Britain is melting down and reaching a breaking point. The supply of doctors and nurses is slowly dwindling. The needs of patients are rising and the end result is a shortage of care. A shortage of care leads to rationing. I would imagine that the tragic death of little Alfie Evans is a hideous example of what happens when care is rationed. The hospital in Britain and the judges who backed the hospital believed that investing money to treat Alfie was a waste of their limited resources. Alfie lost his chance at life because he was sentenced to death by a panel of strangers. Allowing Alfie's parents to leave the country took this tragedy a step further. It seems that the failed system was trying to prove that their wishes trumped those of the grieving parents and suffering child. It would seem that the system demands total adherence to the wishes of strangers. Free will is dead in Britain when it comes to healthcare. Alfie's parents were treated like subjects of the Kingdom. They lost their rights when they sought care from the government. Be careful what you wish for.

Waiting times to receive medical care in Britain are rising at an alarming rate. It has been reported that a wait of 12 hours to be seen is not at all unusual. Appointments are cancelled in order to free up more doctors. If the "system" doesn't deem your case to be a priority, you might as well go home. When hospitals reach a breaking point, they issue something called a "black alert." A "black alert" means that the hospital is at a complete loss to cope with the demands being placed upon it. If this isn't a crisis, then I don't know what is. Socialized medicine in the U.K. doesn't work. It didn't work for Alfie. It failed that little boy, and it is doing the same to thousands of other people in need of care.

The United States has much to learn from Britain's experience with socialized medicine. We need to come up with a better system in our country. Cries for socialized medicine are nothing more than a prescription for failure. We need to learn from the experience of countries like Britain. We need to lift the constraints placed upon healthcare facilities. The workings of the VA are a perfect example of healthcare run amok. The VA works for some Vets, but the reality is that it operates much like the system in Britain. Long waiting periods, needless deaths, shortages of doctors and nurses and quality of care that is mediocre at best characterize the VA and Britain's national healthcare system, Wanting to get something for nothing in the form of socialized medicine translates to getting nothing for nothing. Be carful what you wish for.

Chiquita's Song.

I'm Chiquita Cicada

And I'm here to say

Socialized medicine

Should stay away!