Latest NHS Row
Aug. 8th, 2004 03:59 pmThis link discusses a furore over NHS rationing. I think the article is quite right (cue gasps of shock - yes, it's me agreeing with the Observer) that denying medical treatment to people simply because they're refugees is iniquitous. However, I'm not sure the author of the article really grasps the fundamental problem that there are limited funds in the NHS, so in the end every person put on (very expensive) anti-retroviral drugs means cuts somewhere else in the service. There are plenty of areas of the NHS I'd be happy to cut to free up money for HIV treatment, but the article could have done with some consciousness of the fact that it will always be a choice.