Why Britons should be grateful for the NHS

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 …