Current affairs for a change

Contrary to popular belief, I occasionally do other things with my spare time apart from reading recipe books and going on Ebay. Today, I am going to educate the masses (but very briefly, as I need to go to the gym in ten minutes). I've been looking at NHSblogdoctor which is all about the almighty mess which is the NHS in Britain. If that sounds too boring for words (although its actually quite entertaining), look at this first, an article from The Times about some prisoner who is getting a 'gender reassignment' operation done on the NHS for free - for the SECOND time. i.e., he/she was confused the first time he/she had it done, and wanted to be changed back. The NHS may be a free service to the nation, but when taxpayers' money is used for something so stupid and pointless, when there are people waiting for hip replacements or lifesaving treatment you have to question the worth of such a service.

As far as I can gather, healthcare in Egypt is also a two-tier system, where the poor go to the Government hospitals and the rich go to private hospitals. I have to say though, having been to Mustashfa al-Demerdash which is a teaching hospital in Cairo, if I was ill I'd definitely want to go private! The hospital is fairly grim, and even though NHS hospitals are not that fantastic you can at least expect clean sheets and reasonable standards of hygiene. I went to a clinic on Sunday, which was held in a small grimy room, which was divided further into five tiny cubicles with sliding doors. There was just enough room for a bed and standing space for the doctor. I have never seen a doctor wash their hands before touching a patient, much less use alcohol gel or any other antibacterial. On the wards, there are no curtains separating beds, so that if a patient is examined, the whole room can see what's going on. The doctors may be well trained, but the basic human need for privacy doesn't seem to be a priority. On the other hand, it's very cool to see nurses in niqab and full length white uniforms and female doctors in hijab who are assertive and in positions of respect.

Finally, still on a healthcare note, Ustadha Reham told me about something shocking, which I had never heard of before. Apparently five Bulgarian nurses working in Libya deliberately gave 400 children AIDS, on the instruction of a Palestinian doctor. They were found guilty and sentenced to death but now negotiations are taking place for compensation to be given to the families instead. But what can compensate for knowing that your child will die before your eyes and there's nothing you can do about it? That's assuming the allegations are true - this is Libya we're talking about, and the nurses claim they confessed under torture. You can read more here .