Now That's Sicko

Yogi Berra gets credit for being the first to declare, "No one goes there anymore. It's too crowded."

When fiscal conservatives point out the flaws in socialized government-run medicine, the same axiom applies. For evidence, look no further than the British National Health Service, which is dealing with the fact 70,000 Britons will fly to a foreign country to get treatment for their illnesses. And the reason,

The first survey of Britons opting for treatment overseas shows that fears of hospital infections and frustration of often waiting months for operations are fuelling the increasing trend....

New research shows that growing NHS bureaucracy has left nurses with little time to see patients – most spending long periods dealing with paperwork.

Katherine Murphy, of the Patients' Association, said the health tourism figures reflected shrinking public faith in the Government's handling of the NHS. 

These "health tourists" will travel to 48 countries to seek treatment. Fewer than half of Britons were treated within 18 months of visiting a General Practitioner. Sometimes the mantra of "government inefficiency" loses its meaning - until you read this piece from the Daily Mail. This is why socialized care is bad medicine.