The delights of socialized medicine
When rationing happens (but they never call it by its name)
From
The Scottish Sun:
OAP John�s digit ripped
Grandad John Docherty had his wedding finger ripped off on a railing - when his ring snagged on the fence after he slipped on ice.
John, 67, was left with blood spurting from the wound as he lay in agony on the pavement outside his home.
But he was denied treatment at his local hospital in Ayr where he was told to take a TAXI to Glasgow - and had to share it with a medic travelling elsewhere. John was helping wife Sheena, 61, carry shopping when the gruesome accident happened last week.
The ex-baggage handler said: "I went straight up in the air and tried to grab the railing.
"But my wedding ring got stuck and my finger was ripped clean off - blood was spurting out like oil from the ground."
John was rushed to Ayr Hospital with his digit wrapped in a bag of frozen peas.
But health chiefs said they had no suitable surgeons and made him take a cab to Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
And a doctor going to Crosshouse Hospital, Kilmarnock, hitched a lift in his taxi.
John said: "I arrived at the Royal around 2pm, almost three hours after I fell. Eventually a surgeon said he could try reattaching it, but the chances of it healing were slim."
Seriously WTF??? If they had not rationed surgeons at the first Hospital (isn't a Hospital supposed to be where Surgeons work?), he would have had his finger sown back on in a jif. Putting it on a bag of frozen peas was perfect so he should have had a successful recovery if he had gotten to a surgeon within an hour or so.
Ayr looks to be a gorgeous seaside town but it also looks to be about 40 miles from Glasgow:
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Posted by DaveH at December 31, 2009 1:42 PM