The Cold Hand of Sheer Terror

I went to the Outside today! For fun! To do something nice!

I can't remember the last time that happened. Seriously, I've forgotten.

I went for a lovely lunch with the lovely @bunnyrabble and chatted in a lovely "Cameron's a knobber" kind of way.

My mood driving home was bubbly, delight at a little freedom mixed with a teeny bit of pride that I managed to do a nice thing.

Home with the boys, flumping in a cuddle, I snuck a little look at twitter and found this : http://www.dailyveil.co.uk/news/article-2109942/Patients-failed-NHS-visit-A-E-100-times-year-shows-shock-report.html

And my heart nearly stopped. My blood ran cold. I literally sat and stared. You know those moments you totally expect but hope will never come?

I've heard about "Personal Budgets" in the NHS and wondered - what if they run out?

I've worried about GP commissioning - what if I need expensive surgery or treatment just before the new financial year?

I've worried about privatisation of the NHS - who but the NHS would treat someone like me?

And today, Tory MP and member of the Commons Health Select Committee (!!!), Chris Skidmore said that research into so-called ‘super-users’ of the NHS – people with chronic conditions who keep readmitting themselves to hospital – has uncovered "the full scale of the problem."

What problem is this?

Ahhh, yes, I am the problem. If £107 a week is considered WAY more than I'm worth in disgusting, selfish state income, just imagine what people like Mr Skidmore might think about the £24,000 per year the NHS spends on my chemo shots! Or the 10s of thousands each of my operations has cost. Of the endless in-patient stays costing that good old fella - the hardworking taxpayer - £500 per day.

Skidmore goes on to say "the figures showed the NHS is failing to tackle problems such  as obesity, diabetes, substance abuse and alcoholism." He said: ‘These figures demonstrate clearly the scale  to which NHS care is being dominated by super-users, usually those with long-term chronic conditions and those involved with substance misuse.

Ahhhh, here we go again. Us "Chronics", the dregs of society, de-classified as "disabled" written out of state support, abandoned and reviled now thrown in the NHS drunk-tank with the Friday night scallies.

Is this the start of a new rhetoric? After all, this is exactly how the ground was prepared for ESA, refusing DLA and cutting social care. This is how we ensured the public wouldn't care even a tiny bit when the sick and disabled were thrown on the scrapheap. Just lump 'em in with the feckless, the unfortunate, the irresponsible, the unwashed, the users, the cheats or the drunks.

Obviously, someone decided alcoholism or substance abuse weren't "real conditions" ages ago and focus groups and think tanks know very well the public will get out the pitchforks at the mere mention of such "types". Chuck any other group into that mix and you can almost guarantee a lack of sympathy.

And the line that really made me scared : "'We must begin to look closer at who exactly is using the NHS rather than allowing its revolving door to continue turning.’

Firstly Mr Skidmore, it's "more closely" and secondly, I don't doubt it for a second. I have expected it from your cruel Government for some time

Well Mr Skidmore, should you ensure that "revolving door" stops turning for people like me, I will die. Simple as that. If you take away my income, I might find kind hearted people to ensure that I can eat, but if you shut that "revolving door" I will die.

There's a word for that Skids. It's a word people don't like. An emotive word. A word that sends a chill down spines, that evokes our very worst human failures through history. A word that conjures dead babies and sinister social engineering.

The word is eugenics.


Taking the wrong path once, (ESA) might be forgiveable, taking it twice might be arrogant (DLA) taking it three times (Denying NHS care) is fascist Mr Skidmore.

Be very, very careful Skiddy Mc-Skids. Unless you are prepared to answer the question - "Who deserves to live"

Image courtesy of @B4dAlbert