Ever since the days of Mrs Thatcher, successive British
governments have been gradually eroding the quality of the NHS, and one of the
means by which the present administration is continuing the trend is to place
strict limits on the time a doctor or dentist can spend with each patient. This
is based on the entirely rational notion that it’s better to treat ten people
inadequately than treat five people properly, since you can then produce specious
statistics which show what a fabulous job the NHS is doing under the capable
stewardship of the government and people will think you’re wonderful. (And the
really sad fact is that plenty of people
out there actually take government statistics seriously. Amazing, I know, but
true. And it serves to demonstrate that the ability to pull the wool over
people’s eyes is a sure sign of good government.)
But to the point of the post…
Primary health care professionals in the NHS are under great
pressure these days to get patients in and out of the door as quickly as
possible, so what does it say about your dentist when she stops in the middle
of a scale and polish and asks ‘Are you still comfortable, or would you like to
take a break?’
I think it says a lot.
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