Who shoulders the burden in the end? Not those profiting from the needs of ordinary people.
Last week I was given an update on my long-awaited shoulder replacement (originally planned for last August, then December, then possibly January, and then March): at my ‘consent’ appointment with my surgeon I was given the bad news that, owing to the slow flow of prosthetics from the US, the operation date I had been given in April could not go ahead and we would have to arrange a new date. Even in the next few weeks, there is no guarantee that the surgeon will have received the necessary prosthetics kit. Owing to my planned commitments, we settled on a date in June, by which time – hopefully – my new shoulder joint will have arrived… meaning three more months of pain and pain-killers in the meanwhile.
Now for the underlying reason: the French prosthetics laboratory which surgeons in our area have used successfully for many decades was subjected to a predatory take-over by a US company. Giving various excuses for delays over the last few months, it now admits that it can’t produce the volume needed to cover the US, Europe and Australia (note: America first).
So, my surgeon and colleagues in our area, all using the same – originally French – source, are having to postpone joint-replacement operations. That means wasting precious time and having to endure the anguish of having to disappoint their patients; they would not be doctors if they didn’t care for and about their patients. And of course, like me, dozens of patients – probably many more – are suffering pain for longer and taking pain-killers for longer, something I, for one, am not happy to do, considering the possible side-effects.
What I find so frustrating is the context… this has happened because the US firm didn’t do their sums before taking over the contracts. Err, wait, profit before people…
The other message one can take from this is that our ‘special relationship’ may not be the best for the future of the UK in so many ways. Brexit left us out on a limb.
[Name witheld, but genuine source verified.]
