Nice being nasty again….
So it goes….. Another day, another cancer-suffering English patient having to stick his hand in his pocket to pay for his own treatment…..
Those paper shuffling morons at the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) are at it again. It’s not the breast cancer drug, Herceptin being refused this time - Now it’s ‘Temozolomide’ – a drug that treats aggressive, fast growing brain tumours. The drug was invented and developed in this country. Other countries throughout the world are using it routinely – so why not here?
No need to ask really…… money. The guy paying for his own treatment is up to 10 grand and counting.
NICE are really rubbish – it’s nothing to do with clinical excellence. The painfully slow assessment process is nothing short of prevarication and bluster. They use the excuse of non-approval as delaying tactic to avoid spending cash. And when a drug is finally given the green light – we pay on average 20% more than other western countries for the stuff.
Pretty crap really, especially as the annual budget for the NHS is a bloody unbelievable 94 billion quid……
One thing’s for certain, ‘NICE’ are not independent, nor are they ‘nice’ – they merely dance to the Government’s tune. They should be rebranded – to the National Authority for Fund Fannying (NAFF).
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Reprise…..
On ‘those’ cartoons…..
OK, I admit it, now and again I do watch Richard and Judy on Channel 4. They’re totally crap, obviously – but sometimes they have some great summarisers on to discuss a topic of the day. Nick Ferrari was on last week talking about the Danish cartoons and the ‘spontaneous’ Islamic backlash. He waxed lyrical about Christianity and Islam – and where he thought to two religions stood at the moment.
He compared them thus,
"Christianity is a bit like an old worn-out jumper, a bit old fashioned, a bit tired - it’s sort of still in the 1950’s….
Islam, however is still in the 12th century"……
You have to admit he may have a point.
On James Blunt winning some Brit music awards
How? Why? Who voted? Are they mad and are they deaf? Yes!
On the coverage of the smoking ban vote…..
I’ve been getting really irritated lately at the way the media report news. Dumbed down and inaccurate, the BBC 6 o’clock news has become nothing more than a comic…. Natasha Kaplinski is no time-served journalist. The chronic standard of script origination and undying allegiance to the great p.c. mantra has left a once noble profession little more than a celeb stepping stone to the supermarket opening circuit…. Kerrrching.
For instance, the smoking ban vote – "The Commons votes to stop Britain smoking in pubs and clubs"….
BBC Breakfast was worse. They proclaimed that as a result of the vote, "Britain had given up smoking" The follow up reportage was completely non geographical – apart from repeating that the vote was about Britain and not England and smoking. Even The Times, anxious to pander to their owner – who is also Tony’s bestest, most powerful media friend in the world ever, stated ‘Britain gives up smoking’
For the record, the smoking ban in public places as voted on at Westminster applies to England only.
On ‘those’ cartoons…..
OK, I admit it, now and again I do watch Richard and Judy on Channel 4. They’re totally crap, obviously – but sometimes they have some great summarisers on to discuss a topic of the day. Nick Ferrari was on last week talking about the Danish cartoons and the ‘spontaneous’ Islamic backlash. He waxed lyrical about Christianity and Islam – and where he thought to two religions stood at the moment.
He compared them thus,
"Christianity is a bit like an old worn-out jumper, a bit old fashioned, a bit tired - it’s sort of still in the 1950’s….
Islam, however is still in the 12th century"……
You have to admit he may have a point.
On James Blunt winning some Brit music awards
How? Why? Who voted? Are they mad and are they deaf? Yes!
On the coverage of the smoking ban vote…..
I’ve been getting really irritated lately at the way the media report news. Dumbed down and inaccurate, the BBC 6 o’clock news has become nothing more than a comic…. Natasha Kaplinski is no time-served journalist. The chronic standard of script origination and undying allegiance to the great p.c. mantra has left a once noble profession little more than a celeb stepping stone to the supermarket opening circuit…. Kerrrching.
For instance, the smoking ban vote – "The Commons votes to stop Britain smoking in pubs and clubs"….
BBC Breakfast was worse. They proclaimed that as a result of the vote, "Britain had given up smoking" The follow up reportage was completely non geographical – apart from repeating that the vote was about Britain and not England and smoking. Even The Times, anxious to pander to their owner – who is also Tony’s bestest, most powerful media friend in the world ever, stated ‘Britain gives up smoking’
For the record, the smoking ban in public places as voted on at Westminster applies to England only.
