-Jovica

JM, I must thank you. I've been porting a St. Joseph medal since I began my first job as an expatriate three weeks ago, and you've inspired me to wear St. Patrick tomorrow.

NHS founder Aneurin Bevan told the nation, "When a bedpan is dropped on a hospital floor, its noise should resound in the Palace of Westminster." This implied political license to meddle, with its bias in favor of bureaucracy and obsession with waiting lists and targets, is bringing the late Mr. Bevan's creation to its knees as we speak.

The only way to save the NHS is to get it out of the TLC of politicians (just like the Bank of England). NHS should be run by clinicians for patients: no more HMG "targets", please, and enough Titanic-deckchair-like perpetual "reform". A Downing Street-safe NHS budget managed by a board of governors (dominated by doctors) is the only solution for a system that is on its last legs after six decades.

"Jovica’s platitudinous pontificating". Eh? For that little aside? Crikey, one can only wonder at the astounding (and no doubt alliterative) invective that might result from, say, a viewing of Michael Moore's "Sicko". Really, my dear, best to keep your powder dry for when you need it most.

Re: The NHS. Over the last thirty or so years, the only 'old school' EU countries that spent less on health than the UK [1] were Portugal and Greece. These were considered the poor relations of the old EU and not the countries that Albion generally chooses to compare herself with. What is surprising about the NHS is how well it did compared to its much better provided for EU 'cousins', until the last decade or so when the spiralling costs of high-tech medicine resulted in small, but significant, differences in across-the-board mortality figures.

Re: "perfected their trade". Indeed, there's nothing like a bit of bombing and mayhem to sharpen the scalpel. Come to think of it, hospitals in Belfast were renown for having best casualty departments in the UK. Perhaps Naomh Pádraig should join Apostle Luke, Saints Cosmas and Damian and Saint Panteleimon in the list of "Patron Saints of Medicine" since so much for medical training has been effected in his name.

Pozdrav iz Leicester,

-Jovica

[1] Total health spend as a fraction of GDP.

Sorry about your leg, but at least it gave us this excellent story. Thanks.