BMJ  2004;329 (4 September), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7465.0-g

Editor's choice

Why Britons should be grateful for the NHS

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

If you read Britain's tabloid newspapers, you would think that Britain's National Health Service was a disgrace. In this week's media review (p 578), for example, Peter Wilson quotes some of their headlines on MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus). "Our squalid hospitals: no wonder the MRSA superbug is so rife," is typical, but the subject can be anything, from stupid managers to uncaring nurses. Moreover, newspapers don't let the facts stand in the way of a good story. As Wilson says, in their eagerness to paint a picture of MRSA some papers "even include cases of methicillin sensitive S aureus (MSSA), particularly if it happens to involve a minor celebrity."

But most of the millions of encounters that go on in the NHS each day are not like that: the NHS is not a disgrace. I've always marvelled that this complicated organisation—which deals daily with extremes of . . . [Full text of this article]

Jane Smith, deputy editor

(jsmith@bmj.com)


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Rapid Responses:

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Grateful to the NHS
Paul M J Verheecke
bmj.com, 3 Sep 2004 [Full text]
The old order changeth
John Hopkins
bmj.com, 3 Sep 2004 [Full text]
THANK YOU FOR THIS
Graeme M Mackenzie
bmj.com, 3 Sep 2004 [Full text]
Are britons getting their money`s worth?
ramesh donepudi
bmj.com, 6 Sep 2004 [Full text]
International statistics on patients' experiences might add perspective
Rob Anderson
bmj.com, 6 Sep 2004 [Full text]
All Britons (and some others) should be grateful for the NHS
L-F Ng
bmj.com, 6 Sep 2004 [Full text]
Must the financial bottom line dominate decisions about the future of the BMJ?
Iain Chalmers
bmj.com, 6 Sep 2004 [Full text]
Because sensationalism sells !!!
LEKSHMI PREMKUMAR, et al.
bmj.com, 6 Sep 2004 [Full text]
Americans should be so lucky
Julie N. Broderick
bmj.com, 7 Sep 2004 [Full text]
Re: Because sensationalism sells !!!
Jenny Sheridan
bmj.com, 8 Sep 2004 [Full text]
Re: Are britons getting their money`s worth?
Tom Marshall
bmj.com, 9 Sep 2004 [Full text]
Defend the independence of the NHS
Millie Kieve
bmj.com, 9 Sep 2004 [Full text]
Hidden treasure
Srinivasan Ravi
bmj.com, 9 Sep 2004 [Full text]
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