After having been drenched by numerous intense downpours this week, I am very aware of the drawbacks of living in wonderful scenic Swansea. Childhood memories of the Water Cycle, sea-evaporation-clouds-hills-rain are not quite true because the rain never makes it to the hills round here – maybe its just tired – but it should make it more than a mile inland surely???
Anyway, I was musing that in some way my regular wettings under torrential rain could be self-inflicted by my love of living in Swansea!
This has some relevance with news this week that some medics in our troubled and over-stretched Hospital Accident and Emergency Departments are considering charging certain individuals for treatment. This is a radical departure for the National Health Service, charging people at the point of need, but the problem has reached epidemic proportions. The cause are those young people that choose to imbibe so much alcohol that they experience medical problems, clogging up emergency rooms with the consequences of binge drinking. The medics have a point, their resources should be given to non-self inflicted injury!
However, if this principle of self-infliction is taken to its logical end, surely individuals who experience the onset of Type 2 diabetes because of bad lifestyle choices, lack of exercise and the wrong food may also be subject to charges because of self-infliction! Its just a thought…
It was heartbreaking this morning to hear of the death of Ivan Cameron, the six-year-old eldest son of Conservative Party Leader David Cameron. I do not think it is often that the business in the House of Commons is disrupted, but the Punch and Judy politics that usually take place on Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Question Time were cancelled today, out of respect.
David Cameron has been a strong advocate of the National Health Service, due in no small part to his experience as a parent of a severely ill child. Ivan had Ohtahara syndrome – a very rare, life-limiting epileptic syndrome that occurs in childhood. That, along with Cerebral Palsy, meant that Ivan required 24 hour care, and often from his father at 2am in the morning.
It is hoped that the family will be comforted in their grief by the amount of good will messages sent to them today. I hope it will increase awareness of epilepsy and cerebral palsy amongst the population at large.
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Posted in Comments on the News, Disability Issues | Tags: disability, Ivan Cameron, Ohtahara syndrome