When Quit Kits Trump Emergency Healthcare

An unnecessary luxury in action, recently

You'd think, wouldn't you, that with all the bullshit the Department of Health does shovel money at, that air ambulance services might get some cash.

Not so, as this BBC report points out. Seven years after the London bombings where the LAA proved vital, the DH still haven't stumped up a penny.

As noted in the Government’s response, the Department of Health recognises that air ambulances play an important role in delivering emergency care, and provide an effective means of ensuring better and faster access to hospitals, supporting transfers between hospitals, and help to bring resources to the scene. The Department continues to support charities and ambulance trusts working together to agree how these services can maximise their contribution to high quality patient care in their areas. The Department also continues discussion with London Air Ambulance on the emergency medical care provided, including capability and funding.

Ask any person in the street which service the Department of Health should be paying for - air ambulances or smoking clinics - and I think you'd receive an overwhelming majority for the former.

Yet they are forced to act as a true charity, surviving solely on donations, while the likes of ASH wallow in skiploads of taxpayer and lottery cash, and regional smokefree services are financed by Westminster for putting up advertising hoardings to lobby Andrew Lansley.

From freedom of information requests, I found out recently that Smokefree South West, for example, trousered over £2.5 million from the NHS this year. If that is replicated across the regions, we're talking over £10 million for England alone.

Over the seven years since 7/7, that's £70 million plus tipped down the drain to people who swan around thinking up daft schemes to justify their salary, when it could have been far far better spent on air ambulances which really do save lives.

In the modern world, the vast majority of the public would consider air ambulances a front line core NHS service, hence why they give money willingly to keep the helicopters in the air. Contrast that with fake charities and NHS finger-waggers - for whom the public care so little that they'd die on their arses if public funding was withdrawn - and it's clear that politicians are so far out of touch with their electorate that they might as well be governing from Venus.

If we really must have a socialised health system, a service which offers swift transit to and from hospital surely must be one of the first on the list for finance. However, as usual, we see real front line care being starved of cash so rubber band flickers, who merely drain the country's resources, can live high on the hog promoting pharmaceutical products.

Perhaps we need an MP dying in a field due to the lack of an available air ambulance to focus their tiny minds somewhat.