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December 08, 2005
Neville Duke.
One of the top British Aces from WWII has sold his medals and diaries. An extract:
And in happier times in London: "Released for the day (7 October 1941). Went up to town in the CO's car with Hunk and babe Whitmore. Called on Burberry's, visited the Crackers and saw usual females.
"Had tea at the Trocadero and then saw film Man Hunt. Went along to the Ritz 'Rivoli' Bar and had a few snifters.
"Beetled into the Berkeley for dinner then staggered along to Hatchett's for a nightcap."
And why did he sell his medals?
Sqn Ldr Neville Duke, 83, the Royal Air Force's top-scoring ace in the Mediterranean theatre who set a world air speed record of 728 mph in 1953, put the collection up for auction rather than subject his wife Gwen to months of pain and discomfort while she waited for an operation.
But, but, we have socialized medicine! No one should be forced to pay for such vital and necessary treatment! Wasn’t that the promise made to us?
The standard waiting time for hip replacements in the orthopaedic department at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital, one of the nearest facilities to the Dukes' home, is six months.
Mrs Duke, who has been in pain with her hip for eight months, was told by her chiropractor that the wait might be 15 months.
God Bless the NHS! A service fit for heroes.
December 8, 2005 in Military | Permalink
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Comments
so, under a privatised system, he wouldn't have to sell his medals? I must say that the occasional posts where you outline a practical alternative are much better than the ones that just randomly slag off a public sector institution.
Posted by: dsquared | Dec 8, 2005 8:33:03 AM
so, under a privatised system, he wouldn't have to sell his medals?
Possibly not, as he could have used the money he has undoubtedly spent paying for the NHS to fund the operation. With privatised medicine, you pay once - by selling your medals or otherwise. With socialised medicine, you pay twice - once via a lifetime of taxes, and then by selling your medals.
Posted by: Tim Newman | Dec 8, 2005 10:39:59 AM
You know, if he really wanted to jump over the hoi-polloi in the waiting lists then he could have bought private medical cover for a minor premium. It does exist in the UK and is marketed as a means to leapfrog waiting lists for those who think they are above the rest of the populace. He still would have ended up paying less overall than under a fully private system under meltdown such as in the US.
Posted by: Cernig | Dec 8, 2005 2:40:28 PM
The US health care system is melting down so fast you don't even have time to die before you get your operation.
What does NHS actually cost per capita, per month? It can't be too expensive, because it's still somewhat smaller than the PRC's army.
By the way, Cernig, it may be that those who want treatment before they're dead have other motives than hubris. Maybe they think everybody deserves to be treated while they're still alive. Months-long waiting lists aren't a feature of the human condition; they're a feature of socialized medicine. And a truly surreal one, at that: I once had to wait three whole hours for treatment and I was peeved enough to shoot somebody. Fortunately, I missed, and the bullet lodged harmlessly in one of the homeless people the doctor used to prop up the orphan-grinder.
Posted by: P. Froward | Dec 8, 2005 8:20:18 PM
Ok, so we now have a debate about private care vs the NHS. There are other forms of socialised health care that do seem to manage without the need for waiting lists. And "management teams" that outnumber both patients and medical staff.
What really makes me want to shed someone's blood is that an old man has to sell treasured possessions to relieve his wife's pain after he has served his country and paid taxes all his life.
Just another example of how socialism is theft.
RM
Posted by: The Remittance Man | Dec 9, 2005 8:16:31 AM
The US health care system is melting down so fast you don't even have time to die before you get your operation.
What does NHS actually cost per capita, per month?
Yeah, if you can afford the operation at all. The NHS still costs less than the US system, overall, and at least everyone is covered. As Mitt Romney points out, the US could have a one payer system that costs less for the nation as a whole than the current system and actually covers everyone.
Regards, C
Posted by: Cernig | Dec 9, 2005 4:39:07 PM
Just come across this thread
Trying to buy private healthcare at over 80 would be very expensive even supposing there is a company out there that would consider offering cover.
However it is unfair to say that Mrs Duke's arthritis was the sole cause. They had also suffered several breakins according to the Daily Telegraph at the time. I tgook a great interest in the story as I am very distantly related to the great man.
Posted by: nightmail | Apr 24, 2006 12:28:21 PM
This is the Telegraph story I have hust located
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/12/08/nduke08.xml
Posted by: nightmail | Apr 24, 2006 12:51:55 PM
