Dear Chief Secretary to the Treasury,
I'm afraid to tell you there's no money left.
Signed, Liam Byrne

(Outgoing Labour Chief Secretary to the Treasury. May 2010)
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Sunday 11 April 2010

Labour's diagnostic leafletting campaign.

Mrs Rigby's reaction to the latest distasteful vote-weaning ploy by Labour is one of absolute disgust and contempt. Prodicus has a more direct use of language.

They have sent postcards to cancer sufferers, telling them that if the Tories win the election they might die - but Labour says it will make sure people see a specialist within 2 weeks of a GP referral.

Their campaign has been so carefully worked out that, according to Dizzy, "one of the people that received the mailshot did so whilst her 50 neighbours sharing the postcode did not."

Let Mrs Rigby tell you a story, about a female member of the Rigby family who had a terrible Christmas a few years ago.

She went to her GP with a breast lump. The GP assured the lady that she would be seen by a specialist within two weeks, because that was the target time.

Did it happen?

No!

It didn't happen because it was almost Christmas and the hospital department closed down from just before Christmas until after New Year. It was over five weeks before she saw a professional other than her GP. The lump, fortunately, turned out to be a non-malignant cyst.

So, when a Labour politician tells you there is a 'guarantee' to see a consultant within two weeks ask them if this applies to all hospitals, and all departments at all times of the year - because from the Rigby's experience it doesn't.

It doesn't apply if you're admitted as an emergency on a Friday afternoon, after all the administrators have gone home for the weekend, and it doesn't apply if you need to see a consultant when the administrators close a department for a public holiday.

Hospital administrators can close down a department if they want to, and without any comeback at all. They can do this because they themselves never come face to face with a patient, never see the anguish and torment their policies cause, they are faceless, uncaring, soulless, number-crunching, target hunting, bureaucrats - nothing more.

Oh, and Labour's response to being asked about this postcard campaign?
"The Labour Party would never specifically target any material at people suffering from a medical condition," a spokesman said.
Huh!

They've got a very peculiar way of not doing things, and they've got a funny way of not using confidential medical records too.
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