In search of an Olympics scandal – IOC kills NHS patients
THERE are 158 Days to go until the London Olympics. The race is on to find a story that will shame the IOC and expose the greed and corruption that lie at heart of the Games. So. The Observer presents:
Olympic VIPs take fast lane leaving patients at risk
The VIP fasts lands will are roads lanes closed to anyone but VIP badge holders, members of the cringeworthy “Olympic family”.
Daniel Boffey writes:
Sick and vulnerable NHS patients will be left stranded in ambulances in traffic jams while dignitaries and sponsors race past in a fleet of expensive cars on specially designated lanes during the Olympics, healthcare providers fear.
Scandal!
Games organisers have been accused of risking people’s health by banning the routine use by ambulances of the “Games lanes” introduced to ensure that VIPs can travel quickly to events. The decision to reject a request for access from NHS London, the capital’s strategic health authority, has led to a storm of anger.
Storm!
Medical Services, an independent business that transports patients for the health service, and whose clients include the hospitals closest to the Olympic stadium, says it fears that the ill, including those on dialysis, will be trapped in vehicles as London suffers unprecedented congestion, with traffic on key routes expected to slow to a crawl.
Outrage!
Following consultation with the NHS, ambulances will be allowed to use the lanes when they have their blue lights on, but critics say there are many urgent journeys that cannot justify the use of blue lights. They can only be employed in a genuine emergency and those entitled to use them generally require special training.
So. A genuine emergency can use the lanes. It’s just that the non-emergency trips will have to sit in a bit more traffic then they usually do? Coul it be argued that teh Olympic Lanes will actually speed up emergency trips?
Leah Bevington, head of communication at Medical Services, thunders:
“This means that sick people, often elderly and frail, urgent blood supplies, oxygen, will all be made to wait in traffic with the rest of us.”
Like they do now?
“Congestion can be bad enough around London on a regular day so you can imagine that we are concerned that patients will be on a vehicle for much longer periods of time.”
The scandal is that non-emergency patients may have sit in traffic for a bit longer? Is that it?
Posted: 20th, February 2012 | In: London Olympics Comments (5) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
February 20th, 2012 at 12:56 pm
Yea I’m pretty sure the NHS mini-bus “ambulances” don’t get to use bus lanes at the moment. While any Vehicle with Bues pretty much does what it likes.
.
As for Urgent Organ and Blood, Those are delivered by Motorbike so will probably arrive before a blue lights ambulance
February 20th, 2012 at 11:01 am
Massed Stannah stair lifts will convey them to their executive boxes where off duty NHS nurses will massage their bottoms with soothing ungeunts thus depriving the poor NHS patients of their fair share of bottom improving ungeunt application. It’s a crying shame
February 20th, 2012 at 10:52 am
so people entitled to use blue flashing lights have to be trained to use them….? I wonder how long it takes to do the course to learn how to flick the switch….? Bureaucracy gone mad – again…
February 20th, 2012 at 10:48 am
maybe they can wear tracksuits and pretend to be athletes?
February 20th, 2012 at 10:45 am
Aren’t dialysis patients at high risk if they don’t get treatment when they need it? What about organs for transplant? or does it just mean that outpatients collected by ambulance shall be held up a little longer? it’ll make a change to the usual 3 hour delay in the fracture clinic, and they’ll have a seat.
What happens once the VIP’s arrive at their destination?