Originally Posted By: 02SE
Originally Posted By: SonofJoe
Originally Posted By: 02SE
Originally Posted By: SonofJoe
I was an engineer (albeit a Chemical Engineer) and my son is a doctor with our marvellous NHS. I stand in absolute awe of him! I may have earned considerably more money than he does but in terms of skill, intellect and dedication, there's just no contest.
To the OP, could I say this. A while back, my son was part of a crash team that tried to revive a toddler that had fallen into a neighbour's fish pond. Two hours they battled to bring him back from the brink but in the end, the little boy died, leaving behind two bereft parents. Afterwards, my son took himself off somewhere quiet and cried his eyes out. Now you tell me what's the equivalent job on a car does that to you?
That's a hard account to read. My condolences to the boys parents, and your son.
There's no question that generally, the Doctor is more important than the Mechanic.
A little side story: Years ago, a race team I'm currently consulting on, had a mechanical failure due to an error made by one of the Mechanics, and lack of sufficient oversight by his direct boss. A person was killed as a result. Those that made the ultimately fatal mistake, were well aware of their error, and there is no question it affected them deeply.
So, mistakes made by Mechanics can be life and death, too.
Not all of my lad's stories are so sad. Some of his stories about how 'foreign objects' have to be removed from the errr...(ahem) exhaust manifold...are hilarious! What I didn't appreciate until he explained it to me, is that the said 'objects' often get 'wedged' such that they cannot be extracted via the route they entered, no matter how much 'Mobil 1' is applied. It becomes necessary to errr...(ahem)...cut through the crackcase wall to remove 'that which blocks normal exhaust flow'. He even had one 'engine' which showed the telltale weld signs of previous such repairs!
Oh, and in case you're wondering, such work is done free, gratis and for nothing under the NHS.
I wasn't wondering. But I also know that all socialized medicine is never "free". It's always paid for through taxation, fees, etc. I have extended family in various countries with socialized medicine.
One of those family members lives in Norway. A few years ago it was determined that he needed a heart procedure. They put him on a schedule when they would perform the procedure. That is assuming he lived to the scheduled procedure date. Instead he came to the USA, and had the procedure performed immediately. Of course going the route he chose cost more money, but he's also alive today..
Agreed. It is not 'free' and everyone understands that. It's collectively paid for through direct taxation. It's just 'free' at the point of delivery, so no personalised bills, no restrictions for pre-existing conditions and rubbish like that. The point I was trying to make was that however bizarre, self-inflicted or morally dubious your medical problem is, you still get dealt with and fixed up.
Just to be clear, you can also 'go private' here if you have money. You're under no obligation to use the NHS (although, as it's paid for through taxation, you can't opt-out of paying for it). The private sector does a lot of routine stuff like hip replacements, etc. Most cosmetic stuff is done privately. However, it you've got something seriously wrong with you, then you're far better off with the NHS, not because of cost but because that's where all the true expertise resides. My ex had a huge cancer op a few years back. It was all done by the NHS and she's still alive and thriving.
I'm a big supporter of social medicine if only because it's massively cheaper than the US system which seems to me to be organised primarily for the benefit of health suppliers, insurance companies and Big Pharma, not the ordinary bloke in the street.
