Sunday 12 December 2010

Another bureaucratic policy introduced for the benefit of smokers!

Courtesy of Dick Puddlecote, I am directed to this report in the Kent News, which informs us, for example, that those who smoke and need planned surgery will be required to undertake a NHS Stop Smoking course prior to their operation.
"The primary care trust (PCT), which covers the Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge and Sevenoaks areas, said there was "good evidence" that stopping smoking before surgery reduces the length of hospital stay, infection rates and improves healing time."
And the source of this "good evidence" is? When was this scientific research done and who by? Which PCT official, one elected by the public, made this decision? (An FOI request has this evening been submitted) It would not surprise me if the quoted 'good evidence' is on a par with that about second-hand smoke, for which no 'evidence' has been produced.

One wonders how they can differentiate between 'classes' of patient when their own website states, under equality and human rights, that:
"We are committed to delivering equality of opportunity for all service users, carers, staff and wider communities."
West Kent PCT operate what they term a Single Equality Scheme, one built round 6 equality strands and this page also stresses West Kent PCT's adherence to equality of opportunity for patients. The 6 equality strands are race, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation and religion and belief.

The home page of their website states:
"We also work to improve the health of the people in West Kent, for example through the stop smoking services."
When inputting the words 'stop smoking services' into their search box, lo and behold, 1,911 responses appear. A cursory sift of these pages seem to relate to smoking clinics and the like - nothing about differentiating in respect of patient's habits.

The page on their website 'Free Choice - Your Choice' states:
"This helps you ensure that you go to the place that best suits your needs, at a time convenient to you."
This is yet another case of bureaucratic driven policy without any mandate agreed by the users and amounts to more 'social engineering'!

As Dick Puddlecote states: Welcome to universal healthcare!

5 comments:

Dick Puddlecote said...

I should have been more thorough, WfW. There's a quote there I'm keen to use. Ta. :)

Witterings from Witney said...

No need for self-recrimination DP - as you know I get interested in the political aspect of things like this.

All healthcare should be under local elected control!

James Higham said...

And it's all such a waste of money, isn't it?

Anonymous said...

I often wonder what the importance of religion, race etc. is – are their organs in different places.

I’m afraid it’s the old ‘Capacity Building’ thing again, WfW.

The structure’s the thing – if it deprives us of some more money, so much the better for ‘them’.

B******s.

Witterings from Witney said...

BJ: Not too sure about their organs, but what they excrete comes from their brains!