PUBLIC HOSPITAL OBSTETRICS

A very crucial area where carelessness is unforgiveable

A boy who was left brain damaged by a birthing procedure gone wrong was awarded $9 million in the ACT Supreme Court. The payout was approved yesterday by Justice Terry Connolly after Canberra Hospital admitted liability over the incident, which also left Ryan Galea, now five years old, with cerebral palsy and epilepsy......

Mr and Mrs Galea said in a statement that if the Canberra Hospital birthing centre "had proper training and adequate resources this accident would never have happened... It is false economy to take shortcuts with our health services - the economic and human costs are too high," they said.

Their solicitor, Emma Hines, said that the allegations of negligence by the hospital principally related to "failure to act upon signs of distress Ryan was showing" at his birth, as well as the use by hospital staff of a gel to speed up the labour and their failure to follow the manufacturer's instructions. Ms Hines said that while at "first glance" $9 million might appear like a high amount, that was put into perspective when it was considered that the child would need 24-hour care for the rest of his life.

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THE UNINSURED: WALTER WILLIAMS TELLS IT LIKE IT IS

Politicians have a field day misleading Americans who, as a result of having been dumbed down by our education system, can't think, reason or analyze. How many times have we heard the political lament, "There are 43 million Americans without health insurance"? While that observation might very well be true, what are we to make of it? Does it mean that there are Americans dying on the streets for want of medical treatment? Were that the case, you can bet the rent money that the major TV networks would feature nightly stories of medically indigent Americans in various stages of pain, suffering and death.

I have seen no such stories. So what does the absence of health insurance mean? Among the things that it might mean is that you don't receive medical treatment on the same terms as a person with health insurance. You might spend a day waiting for treatment at a clinic instead of having an appointment at a chosen time at a physician's office. It might also mean that you will receive a smaller quantity and lower quality of medical care such as hospitalization in a ward instead of a private room, interns rather than specialists, and treatment at voluntary clinics and free hospitals such as Shriners.

Let's face it: People who can buy insurance get benefits that those who cannot afford it don't. Those with lots of money get things that those with little money don't. Whether we like it or not, these are facts of life. By the way, a healthy young person might opt for self-insurance and not purchase health insurance because he believes that the money could be better spent elsewhere.

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For greatest efficiency, lowest cost and maximum choice, ALL hospitals and health insurance schemes should be privately owned and run -- with government-paid vouchers for the very poor and minimal regulation.

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