There are moments beyond parody. Such as when Britain's
National Health System defended providing private care for NHS
employees. You see, private care is, er, better.
Reports the Times of London:
The health department defended the practice and said sending
doctors, nurses and other key staff for private treatment
helped to get them back to work.
"If trusts want to get their staff back to work more quickly
they can't jump NHS waiting lists, so going private is an
option," said the spokesman.
"There is evidence that early intervention in tackling sickness
absence enables staff to return to work more quickly.
"Other benefits include: reducing the risk of chronic illness
that could result in ill health retirement, cost-saving on
temporary staff and having a positive impact on staff health
and wellbeing and, in turn, patient satisfaction."
Let's see. If private care without waiting lists gets
people back to work sooner, and reduces the risk of chronic
illness, then why shouldn't everyone get private care?
Surely there is a good reason for imposing substandard care on
most of the nation!
(Hat-tip to
Don Surber.)
About the Author
Doug Bandow is a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute and the Senior Fellow in International Religious Persecution at the Institute on Religion and Public Policy. A former Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan, he is author of Beyond Good Intentions: A Biblical View of Politics (Crossway).
