Politics in the NHS
Of course, politics has no place in the NHS. So when Glasgow's new Southern General Hospital had to be named, choosing to call it 'the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital' was not political. Not at all.
Those of us who wanted to call it the Mary Barbour (after the first female Baillie in Glasgow who defended the needs and rights of women in Govan) or the John Aitken (after a dedicated local doctor in the Victorian era who served the poor of Govan so well) were told by - I think - the chair of the health board of the time - that he had decided on the name to avoid political disagreement.
Not that QE or the UK government contributed a brass farthing to the cost of building or equipping the hospital. No, we - the tax payers of Scotland - are paying for it. Of course. And that's definitely not political.
When I was in the QEH, I really wasn't well enough to join in chat about politics, although one SNP supporter kept me entertained with her savvy approach to Scottish politics.
But the most entertaining moments came with the auxiliary from Lancashire. His wife had got a job in QEH and he had come north with her, bringing their teenage son along too. Neither he nor the son has a trade. He blamed his parents for pulling him out of school too young. And he'd done the same thing to his own son, now working in the hotel trade on zero-hours contracts.
A couple of chats took place in my room until I reminded him this was a 'barrier' nursing room and he should be wearing at least an apron and gloves and should wash his hands thoroughly before he left. I knew what he was doing of course: he was hiding for the the last 15 minutes of his shift before he could clock off.
He assured me 'England isn't England any more'. What is it then? No answer.
Boris will do a good job as PM. How? What's his plan? No reply.
He could no longer vote Labour because Corbyn is a racist. What proof did he have of that? Silence. And anyhow it's surely safe to vote Labour now that Corbyn has said he'll resign. Nothing.
He now votes Tory: Boris will get it done. How? I asked? No answer.
He was dismissive of trades unions. I asked if he belonged to a union. No. Never saw the need. I told him about the women Glasgow council workers being denied equal pay. He'd never heard of that - or that they finally got pay equality.
This man is a product of what James Perrin called the Thatcher mis-education years. Knows nothing and is proud of it. Trusts the Tories. You might as well stamp CHUMP across his forehead.
Those of us who wanted to call it the Mary Barbour (after the first female Baillie in Glasgow who defended the needs and rights of women in Govan) or the John Aitken (after a dedicated local doctor in the Victorian era who served the poor of Govan so well) were told by - I think - the chair of the health board of the time - that he had decided on the name to avoid political disagreement.
Not that QE or the UK government contributed a brass farthing to the cost of building or equipping the hospital. No, we - the tax payers of Scotland - are paying for it. Of course. And that's definitely not political.
When I was in the QEH, I really wasn't well enough to join in chat about politics, although one SNP supporter kept me entertained with her savvy approach to Scottish politics.
But the most entertaining moments came with the auxiliary from Lancashire. His wife had got a job in QEH and he had come north with her, bringing their teenage son along too. Neither he nor the son has a trade. He blamed his parents for pulling him out of school too young. And he'd done the same thing to his own son, now working in the hotel trade on zero-hours contracts.
A couple of chats took place in my room until I reminded him this was a 'barrier' nursing room and he should be wearing at least an apron and gloves and should wash his hands thoroughly before he left. I knew what he was doing of course: he was hiding for the the last 15 minutes of his shift before he could clock off.
He assured me 'England isn't England any more'. What is it then? No answer.
Boris will do a good job as PM. How? What's his plan? No reply.
He could no longer vote Labour because Corbyn is a racist. What proof did he have of that? Silence. And anyhow it's surely safe to vote Labour now that Corbyn has said he'll resign. Nothing.
He now votes Tory: Boris will get it done. How? I asked? No answer.
He was dismissive of trades unions. I asked if he belonged to a union. No. Never saw the need. I told him about the women Glasgow council workers being denied equal pay. He'd never heard of that - or that they finally got pay equality.
This man is a product of what James Perrin called the Thatcher mis-education years. Knows nothing and is proud of it. Trusts the Tories. You might as well stamp CHUMP across his forehead.
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