Sir Liam Donaldson

He doesn\’t quite get it, does he?

Hospitals should be fined if patients get bad care that extends their stay or if they catch an infection, the Government chief medical officer has said.

You can see the thought process at work here. For profit companies would indeed be incentivised by such actions.

Sir Liam said the system of fines worked well in America, where private health care companies operate,

Indeed. The problem is, as some have noted, that we don\’t have such for profit healtth care here:

but critics said introducing it in the UK was \’absurd\’ as the taxpayer would end up paying the fine anyway.

In fact, one young shaver made the point very well:

Matthew Sinclair, Policy Analyst at the TaxPayers\’ Alliance, said: "Whether the Primary Care Trust or the hospital pays the cost of treating someone who has fallen victim to poor medical standards the taxpayer will still foot the final bill.

"This proposal might make sense in an insurance-based healthcare system which leaves provision to private companies, as seen in the most successful Continental countries, but not in the NHS as it currently stands.

"Without that separation between funding and provision we will never get proper incentives for reliable, safe and effective medical care. We would be in the absurd position of robbing Peter to pay Peter."

Is it possible to buy shares in the future of certain youngsters, to partake in the benefits of their obvious future success*?

* To be, at 22, and not yet a year out of university, the go to guy for a national newspaper on bureaucratic stupidity rather marks one out as one to watch.