|
Stephann -> RE: Illegal immigrants face NHS block (12/3/2007 9:08:22 AM)
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: LadyEllen we need immigrants exactly because too many Brits have so few relevant skills to today's "service economy", and find life on benefits provides a higher income than if they worked at the level they can. problem being, immigrants aint so daft that they wont be able to work out the exact same conclusion in short order. if the government were at all serious about our shortage of skilled workers, then we wouldnt have Iraqi doctors holed up as potential illegal immigrants. E If you were vomiting with serious stomach pains, would you want to be seen by a doctor who doesn't speak English? Who's major training in Iraq might have been on par with a paramedic in the West? The problem with foreign trained doctors (in any country), is that they are awarded their credentials based on criteria that isn't necessarily on par with criteria in your own country. Just because someone claims to be a computer tech, doesn't mean I'm going to let them work on my network. I'm chiming in on this thread, because we're are, and soon to a greater degree, we will be facing similar questions in the US. Presently, when someone calls 911, and an unconscious person is on the ground, paramedics fix up and bring that person to the hospital. No questions related to insurance are asked when they arrive, unless the person is conscious. Even if they have no insurance, they aren't refused. They are patched up, and sent home as soon as they are able to go, with a bill drawn up on them. If they don't pay the bill, the hospital eats the bill (and passes it on to other, paying clients.) This model is causing hospitals that used to serve poorer areas to end up closing their doors; they might receive some city, state, and federal funds, but they're usually privately (or non-profitley) managed. Something mentioned earlier, refers to human rights. I'm a firm believer that humans have the right to seek out whatever life they desire. If I want top notch medical care, I have the right to access it; I don't believe I have the right to have it simply given to me. There are lots of ways to pay for medical care; one hundred years ago, I certainly didn't expect the government to simply pay my doctor. If I didn't have cash, I might give him chickens, potatoes, shoes, or whatever else I did. Today, there are often handfuls of intermediaries and middle men (in the US) in the guise of insurance or HMO corporations. I believe the best solution is for the state to foot the bill for inexpensive, bare minimum health care. I don't believe it is the states responsibility to fork over one million dollars worth of treatment, to keep me alive an extra month. I do believe that the state should fork over a million dollars, to pay for 50,000 children to get vaccinated, or 10,000 mammograms. Until we can accept that health care isn't 'at any price', and prepare to limit the amount we're willing to spend to treat and keep people alive, our values will continue to become a bottomless pit to continue shoveling money into. Illegal immigrants, believe it or not, still pay sales (or VAT) taxes. I think it's unconscionable for a doctor or hospital to turn away someone with a risk to life or limb. Bare minimum, for me, means just that. Stephan
|
|
|
|