Socialized Medicine – Equally Bad Care for All

Dad Dies Waiting for Surgery (New Zealand – nod to Kiwi Pundit for the link)

A 43-year-old father died of a heart attack at home after bypass surgery at Wellington Hospital was postponed twice this month.

Kapiti man John Russell was admitted to hospital for the scheduled operation both times but was sent home because of a shortage of intensive care beds. He died on his kitchen floor the following week, on May 17.

He had been waiting five months for his operation.

Capital and Coast District Health Board papers issued yesterday show Mr Russell is one of 12 heart patients to have their operation postponed recently.

The postponements occurred despite figures showing the health board has reduced the number of patients waiting longer than six months for elective heart surgery to 36.

But there’s more. According to Kiwi Pundit:

Wakefield hospital was available just around the corner, but last year the state hospital board terminated a program that would have allowed patients to be referred to the private hospital if necessary.

And he has a link to this business story with details about how the private hospital’s cardiac surgery unit is underutilized.

Oh yeah – I want the government put in charge of health care in the name of “fairness” – NOT.