Hospitals‿ and‿ illnesses

My name‿ is Lucia. I had‿ an‿ operation three years‿ ago,│ an(d) what‿ I learned from the experience concerned not the surgeon but the system within│ which he was‿ obliged to practise.

My diagnosis‿ occupied four months,│ because triage correctly classified my case‿ as non-urgent,│ and‿ I bear‿ it no resentment. What struck me was the visible pressure:│ twelve patients‿ on one list│ before lunch,│ and‿ a surgeon│ who was both‿ excellent‿ and‿ exhausted. Six beds to a room meant│ that I^{thad I} contracted‿ a nosocomial‿ infection│ which detained me an‿ additional week. None‿ of this was‿ attributable to any individual;│ it was the predictable‿ output‿ of running‿ every department‿ at full capacity,│ where‿ a single‿ emergency displaces‿ a hundred‿ appointments‿ and‿ every saving‿ on‿ infrastructure‿ is repaid later^la-der‿ in complications.

I now hol(d) that the argumen(t) concerning health care‿ is conducted‿ in the wrong terms. It‿ is framed‿ as‿ a matter^ma-der‿ of funding,│ whereas the more‿ awkwar(d) question‿ is‿ adequacy an(d) rationing,│ which‿ an‿ ageing population renders‿ unavoidable‿ in some form. If‿ a politician promises‿ everything to everybody,│ ask who will staff‿ it. The nurses│ who attended me were‿ extraordinary an(d) visibly exhausted,│ and‿ I should place that sentence‿ at the head‿ of‿ any reform proposal. Entitlements that cannot be staffed‿ are not‿ entitlements;│ they are‿ intentions,│ an(d) the distinction between the two is│ where‿ accountability properly begins.