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Celebrating the NHS

The Observer runs a long story about how the NHS saved the lives of a 34 year old pregnant woman in heart failure and her child.

Excellent stuff indeed.

However, I\’ve got only one question.

While it was indeed the NHS which saved these two lives, is it in fact true that only the NHS would have saved these two lives?

Would the outcome have been the same under the French, Swedish, Danish, American, Canadian, German systems?

In other words, is this a celebration of the NHS specifically, or is it a celebration of any reasonably modern health care system?

The way the piece is written definitely suggests the former….but I have my suspicions that it\’s really the latter.

2 thoughts on “Celebrating the NHS”

  1. So even socialized medicine can produce good modern health services that match that available in other more privatized systems – I’m sure that wasn’t your point was it?

  2. John,

    Ummm… I don’t think that you’ve quite got the point.

    The Observer is trying to extrapolate from an anecdote which is dangerous in itself. You appear to be making the same mistake.

    Tim’s point is that even if the anecdote is true, it doesn’t prove the general case – that socialised medicine can do this in general. It is perfectly absurd to go the extra step to suggest that only socialised medicine can do this in general.

    So, no. That wasn’t his point.

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