A thousand years ago, Great Britain’s major threats were simple: invasion and infection. Welcome to the year 2011, where small bottles of antibacterial gel found in hospitals and handbags, assist in the limitation of infections spreading; and Great Britain shares an aircraft carrier with the French. Yes, times have changed. The biggest threat to this country now, is our infamous ability to eat.
Last week, Great Britain was handed a treat from our coalition government; a little present to ease our lives; a gift for being good, taxpaying citizens – a fleet of robust ambulances for fatties. The new vehicles are equipped with wider doors, stronger stretchers and a winch to get those over-indulging, in and out of the ambulance with little strain on the staff.
The new trucks are capable of transporting any patient to hospital who weighs up to fifty stone; a sympathetic gesture from David Cameron and his band of merry men who want to cut, cut, cut.
The ambulances are by no means cheap. A fully equipped ambulance – with the full range of obesity modified equipment, will cost up to £90,000. Buying a new heavy-duty, adjustable stretcher will alone cost £10,000. And a lifting cushion to help large patients off the floor will cost £2,500.
Last week it was announced that the Midlands has become the fattest location on the European map. This is why they’ve snapped up 10 new bariatric ambulances. Nigel Wells, an operations manager at the trust said: “it is all about safety for our patients and the safety for our crews. We now have a greater number of patients who are larger in size.”
Obesity is costing the UK over four billion pounds annually; that’s more than we spend, as a nation, on fast food. At a time where our financially strained NHS is facing cuts, more money is needed to deal with the country’s growing waistline – starting with the infrastructure of patient transport. Maybe we’re too lenient with our free healthcare. How about a fat tax? Would paying for treatment ensure that Britons would do their best to keep the weight off – just like America? Having said that, the US is not the best role model when equating obesity and the finance of health treatment, with one in three children born in the year 2000 set to suffer from diabetes.
The ominous epidemic that haunts the health service is getting worse. When will something change and see the country return to normality? When will bariatric ambulances be decommissioned and see a ‘normal’ ambulance fleet on the streets of Great Britain.
Maybe this is what David Cameron meant when he said the ‘Big Society.’
Last week, Great Britain was handed a treat from our coalition government; a little present to ease our lives; a gift for being good, taxpaying citizens – a fleet of robust ambulances for fatties. The new vehicles are equipped with wider doors, stronger stretchers and a winch to get those over-indulging, in and out of the ambulance with little strain on the staff.
The new trucks are capable of transporting any patient to hospital who weighs up to fifty stone; a sympathetic gesture from David Cameron and his band of merry men who want to cut, cut, cut.The ambulances are by no means cheap. A fully equipped ambulance – with the full range of obesity modified equipment, will cost up to £90,000. Buying a new heavy-duty, adjustable stretcher will alone cost £10,000. And a lifting cushion to help large patients off the floor will cost £2,500.
Last week it was announced that the Midlands has become the fattest location on the European map. This is why they’ve snapped up 10 new bariatric ambulances. Nigel Wells, an operations manager at the trust said: “it is all about safety for our patients and the safety for our crews. We now have a greater number of patients who are larger in size.”
Obesity is costing the UK over four billion pounds annually; that’s more than we spend, as a nation, on fast food. At a time where our financially strained NHS is facing cuts, more money is needed to deal with the country’s growing waistline – starting with the infrastructure of patient transport. Maybe we’re too lenient with our free healthcare. How about a fat tax? Would paying for treatment ensure that Britons would do their best to keep the weight off – just like America? Having said that, the US is not the best role model when equating obesity and the finance of health treatment, with one in three children born in the year 2000 set to suffer from diabetes.
The ominous epidemic that haunts the health service is getting worse. When will something change and see the country return to normality? When will bariatric ambulances be decommissioned and see a ‘normal’ ambulance fleet on the streets of Great Britain.
Maybe this is what David Cameron meant when he said the ‘Big Society.’
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