The Christoforge Column (18/09/16)

Stop Blaming Doctors

There's a worrying trend gaining traction in the medical world at the moment that sees doctors at the forefront of medical negligence. If the increasing blame culture wasn't bad enough for doctors there are even a number of medical professionals now being imprisoned for allegedly failing to correctly diagnose their patients. Doctors are not some superhuman beings that merely exist to cure any medical issue you may have, but surprisingly actual human beings with everyday lives. They do offer a service of trust, but just because you assume they will make your life better doesn't mean they always will. Doctors are going to make mistakes, so to then punish even the most minor of those mistakes with large repercussions is a very detrimental policy to the whole medical profession, and one that shifts more unwanted attention towards the unstable and understaffed NHS.

Again, doctors are human beings. Unless they're Harold Shipman they're almost certainly not trying to harm their patients, so owning up to a mistake should never be a criminal issue. If there is genuine criminal negligence on display that would justify removing an individual from society then that individual should absolutely be taken to court, but never in the case of a simple mistake. If this suing culture is allowed to spiral out of control then medicine in this country will suffer. Doctor's will be hunted down like vermin for any mistake, which leads to a health service where no professionals ever take risks for fear of being jailed. This issue is now so concerning to doctors and medical staff that some have produced a fantastic resource around this issue that perfectly explains the predicament, and I urge you to at least research this topic, if not support this organisation.

http://www.manslaughterandhealthcare.org.uk/


There May Be Hope for the NHS

It may be doom and gloom for doctors who make mistakes at the moment, but in other areas the NHS is finally making progress. After an eternity of faffing around with how to make the population healthier the NHS has announced plans to start refusing surgery to obese patients, although in typical NHS fashion these plans have been put on hold. I honestly hope this plan does go ahead as I feel this is a fantastic solution to the current NHS woes. Firstly you're saving a shitheap of cash, and secondly you might actually encourage the obese to look after the bodies without taxing the hell out of the perfectly healthy. At no point are the obese and smokers of the population ever completely denied treatment, however they will be shifted to the back of the queue for minor surgeries if they show no commitment to living a healthy lifestyle. This isn't inhumane or unethical, it's an abrasive strategy that needs serious consideration.

You may be thinking at this stage it would be harsh of the NHS to start slowly denying the obese a human right, however this significant group of people in Britain are putting a huge strain on the taxpayer, simultaneously crippling the financial resources of a divided healthcare system. Tell those who want a stomach shrinking or something equally worthless to fuck off and sort their lives out. The real solution is simple: Eat less or exercise you lazy twats, or better yet go private. Why should I be the one to pay for an individual who can't even be bothered to look after themselves? Obese people drain natural resources and pollute an already unstable health system, so it's about time they got told to fuck off and be held accountable for their selfish and unhealthy actions. The only way this current obesity crisis is going to be solved is if schemes like this exist, and only then can we watch the fat of this country to adapt or die.


The Ever Increasing Issue of Clothing

Clothing for some reason has suddenly become such a divisive issue in the West. Obviously I understand there needs to be restrictions so five year old Johnny doesn't get to see some wrinkly ball sack attached to some eighty year old man striding through the town centre. However we've now got to this strange hypocrisy where banning a 'burkini' is seen as outrageous yet banning an advert on the London Underground with a figure in a bikini is censorship that should be supported. And God forbid if you happen to have landed a satellite on a comet and wear clothing with scantily clad women drawn on to it, because obviously that's completely sexist.

Both of these outrages have been directed towards a body positivity movement that champions the idea that people shouldn't be demonised for what they choose to wear or how they look, yet on the whole this collective viewpoint is just so specious. Stop getting offended over what you think other people will be offended by. We're not all special flowers, so let's just all let people wear what they want. I'm all for the legalisation of both that advert and the burkini, and believe that should never be censored so long as it falls under common decency. So come on people, let's all stop trying to censor clothing as well.