ANOTHER CASE FOR TOTALLY PRIVATIZED MEDICINE

From Britain, of course. Note that the Dept. of Health says that the couple COULD have been accomodated if the hospital authorities had wanted to. Because of their high-handed decision not to, the lady had to pay again for care she had already paid for once via contributions to the government system. No prizes for guessing that the hospital did not want someone else around who might witness their sloppy procedures and demand better

A nervous mother-to-be paid £10,000 to give birth privately because an NHS hospital would not let her husband stay with her overnight. Ann Quayle says a midwife told her his presence could offend Muslim women on the ward. She and her husband Paul Kellers could afford the private treatment only by taking out a credit card loan. But 44-year-old Miss Quayle, who has had two miscarriages, said she would have been too upset and scared without him at her side. She said: "I accept that religion and culture should be catered for but so should my needs. If we're supposed to be a multicultural society, we don't need people spouting this kind of nonsense."

The Royal Free Hospital, in North-west London, categorically denied, however, that Mr Kellers had been refused permission to stay because of offending Muslim women. It said in a statement: "We cannot accommodate partners because women receiving ante-natal care are in fourbedded bays, like other patients. As soon as labour starts the woman and her birth partner can be together on the labour ward. "We don't know whether anyone made any comments about the religious or cultural needs of other patients but certainly that would not be an appropriate comment. It was not the reason that Miss Quayle's husband could not stay the night."

Miss Quayle, from nearby West Hampstead, was a week overdue when she attended the hospital's Aldrich Blake maternity day unit. Staff booked her in to be induced a week later but the refusal to let her husband join her left her in tears. Instead, the couple went to the Portland Hospital where Victoria Beckham and the Duchess of York had their children. "It makes me go hot and cold thinking about the amount of money we spent," Miss Quayle said last night as she cradled her week-old daughter Tiger Lilly. "Before she was born I would lie awake worrying about the huge expense but it's worth every penny now we have our beautiful daughter. The staff at the private hospital were wonderful but the most important thing about it all was that Paul could stay with me, sleeping on a bed by my side."

Miss Quayle, who has just started an estate agency with her husband, added: "I was disappointed to have to go private. "I pay my taxes and I feel I have paid to have my baby on the NHS. I am a huge supporter of the NHS. My mother is an NHS nurse. "My axe to grind is that my husband staying with me would not have cost a penny."

Miss Quayle said she and her 33-year-old husband had Christian, Jewish and Muslim readings when they married on July 11, four days after the London bombings. She added: "I was in hospital on the day of the bombings and a young Muslim couple were there having a baby. Because of the bombings, people's attitude towards them became hostile and I felt so sorry for them. "It shouldn't matter what religion you are. "In the politically dangerous climate we're in at the moment, you don't need people saying things like they said to me."

The Department of Health said last night it was up to individual NHS Trusts to decide whether partners could stay overnight in such cases. There is no nationwide policy on the issue.

Source

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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. Both Australia and Sweden have large private sector health systems with government reimbursement for privately-provided services so can a purely private system with some level of government reimbursement or insurance for the poor be so hard to do?

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