UK: Alarm Raised Over Tripling in Cancelled NHS Appointments
26th April 2019
Nine million patients a year are seeing crucial hospital appointments and operations cancelled by administrators – almost triple the number a decade ago, official statistics show.
Patients groups said too many vulnerable people were being treated as though they were “lucky to get an appointment at all” with slots routinely called off at the last minute, sometimes repeatedly.
How about that GREAT government-provided health care? Don’t you wish we had a system like that in the U.S.?
A fundamental characteristic of a service provided by the government is that when the government fails (or refuses) to provide it, you have nowhere else to go.
Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, last night vowed to “fundamentally overhaul” the system in order to tackle the failings and spare patients distress and harm.
Raise your hand if you think that will ever happen.