It’s a pleasure and an honour to introduce someone very special to my blog today who will be a regular guest poster from now on. His name is Ian Craine, he’s my political and cultural correspondent from London; he’s a retired solicitor, an indexer and a writer of screenplays, short stories and poems – and he’s also my sweetheart…
Let’s hear what he’s got to say on the desolate situation of the British Health Care System – compared with other such systems in the animal world!
Hunt and the Ants
Many types of ant have well developed social systems that have evolved for the good of the community. Proper health services are part of these. Ants operate a triage system, treatment at the place of injury where necessary, ambulances, and community hospitals. By which I mean that they gauge the seriousness of the injury before deciding who gets priority treatment, and after administering any emergency care in situ they create a stretcher made out of their own backs and take the wounded ant back to base where further treatment will be available.
I find it particularly interesting to note that they seem to be aware of the need to commence treatment as soon as possible after injury occurs- almost always within one hour which is why they offer care at the original location. Compare and contrast this with Britain’s National Health Service for human beings run by Jeremy Hunt as Minister for Health within Theresa May’s Conservative government. Hunt has set a far less ambitious target time- patients arriving at Accident and Emergency units are supposed to be seen within four hours- four times as long. Even this target is frequently missed.
It seems to be better for one’s health in modern Britain to be an ant rather than a human being. But given the traditional placing of ants within the overall animal kingdom I have to ask myself what sort of pond life Jeremy Hunt is.
By Ian Craine
Roberta Franklin 