June 23: Wasteful costs drain the NHS
IN response to letters pleading for more money to be found for the Health Service, the reality is that the NHS has plenty of money but that there is waste on a huge scale due to expenditure on drugs and procedures, which are ineffective and often do more harm than good.
Here are some examples. Statins are being prescribed to many people even though NICE accepts that 77 people have to be on the treatment for three years in order that one will benefit.
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Hide AdType 2 Diabetes costs the NHS about £10bn per annum. The official NHS line is that this disease is incurable. Patients are prescribed various drugs including insulin and are usually advised to reduce their consumption of fat and increase foods which are rich in carbohydrates such as rice, pasta and wholemeal bread. This is a strategy which is fundamentally wrong. In fact there is now overwhelming evidence that it is possible for many people to cure the disease by simply reducing their consumption of carbohydrates, especially sugar, and replacing them with the healthy fats contained in foods such as butter, meat and avocados.
It really is time that the Government and the NHS conduct a much more critical evaluation of all the drugs, tests and other procedures which are being used. We have to ask if our politicians are so pathetic that they are incapable of addressing these issues, especially as there are brownie points to be gained from the electorate.
An economic history lesson
From: Dr Glyn Powell, Goole.
IN responding to H Marjorie Gill’s letter, in support of former premier Margaret Thatcher (The Yorkshire Post, June 13), it must be said that this correspondent, like many others, swallowed the Establishment line that all Britain’s economic ills were down to workers and their trade unions.
This is historically incorrect, as Britain had been suffering gradual economic decline since 1918. Due to loss of Empire, companies no longer enjoyed monopoly positions in overseas markets, especially those in former colonies. The utter failure of British capitalists to invest in modern equipment resulted in our inability to compete on price. Added to these factors was the Tory government accepting the EU argument that Britain’s future was not as a manufacturing centre but as a centre for banking and insurance.
Witch hunt for police
From: Hilary Andrews, Leeds.
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Hide AdWELL done to Wiliam Snowden for stating the views of most people about the Miners’ Strike and the police response to it (The Yorkshire Post, June 19). If we keep having these witch hunts over events that happened over decades ago, the people wanting such inquiries should be footing the bills for them and not using hard earned taxpayers’ money.
Vilifying the police for doing their job seems to be the fashion nowadays. This is plainly wrong.
HS2 is just a waste of time
From: Lorna Macdonald, Holmfirth, West Yorkshire.
ALMOST every day there is an item about HS2 (usually an objection). I, too, think it a complete waste of time and money. For large countries maybe, but in our little Great Britain most certainly not.
It takes just two hours by train from Leeds/Wakefield to get to London already. No one has thought or realised that the half hour or so saved will be swallowed up. Driving to the new stations in the rush hour. The money should be spent upgrading the existing rail network and roads. There may even be some cash left over for our NHS, all much more important than HS2.
Call to Labour candidates
From: David Treacher, Hull.
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Hide AdSINCE the last leader of the Labour Party resigned, others have indicated they wish to stand for the position. But the question members will be asking themselves is who is the best to take over? Anyone can say this that or the other. Are these people going to come and speak to us locally? It would be nice to see them.
Chilly fishing expedition
From: Ruthven Urquhart, High Hunsley, Cottingham.
I HAVE recently returned from a fishing holiday in the far northern Highlands of Scotland.
The weather was unbelievably cold for late May, and there was no sign of any Salmond or Sturgeon, and not even a taste of caviar to cheer us up a bit!
Perhaps they are spending most of their time in Westminster these days?
Mystery of ISIS backers
From: Raymond Shaw, Elland.
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Hide AdFOLLOWING the spread of the ISIS culture in the Middle East, I note the abundance of arms, some quite sophisticated, possessed by the insurgents.
Little or no mention is ever made of the finance and supply of this weaponry. Surely international intelligence, through surveillance, should find the means of exposing the finance and minds behind the source of the problem?