I/we often complain about the public sector. As a result, the front-line service personnel tend to take all the blame, even though the blame isn't necessarily directed at them. The real blame is, and should be directed at the political correctness that is driving the system from behind the scenes. It is true that there are some unnecessary and expensive management structures behind the scenes that add little or nothing to the quality of the services we all expect in return for our taxes. It is also true that there are politically correct policies being imposed upon us that few of us actually want or need.

Two weeks ago I had an hospital appointment to address a potentially serious and unpleasant condition. I was directed to different departments for certain tests to be carried out. At every test department the quality of the nursing staff was nothing less than excellent. Without any prompting from me one particular nurse took it upon herself to take me aside and give me some very personal advice that would help me handle my difficulties; her manner was caring, compassionate, and extremely helpful. After the completion of all the various tests I saw the consultant. Again, this man was most helpful. I still have future appointments. And even though I don't have much confidence in the management structure behind the NHS, I do have the sense that the front-line staff do care and are doing their very best.

At midnight last night my wife suddenly collapsed in agony. She had acute pains in her lower right side that extended through her chest and into her neck and head. The blood drained from her face and she was fighting for breath. I phoned 999 for an ambulance - two paramedics arrived in less than 5 minutes (that is very good in a semi-rural situation with bendy narrow dark lanes). By the time the paramedics arrived my wife was close to being unconscious; her breathing was difficult, she was crying in agony, and she looked dreadful. The paramedics immediately suspected a heart attack and hooked my wife up the a portable ECG device. The ECG showed no signs of a heart attack – big sigh of relief.

The paramedics carried out a number of checks and eventually diagnosed anaphylactic shock - antihistamine was administered. After about an hour my wife was showing strong signs of improving.

The paramedics did a wonderful job on my wife. I shall be writing later today to the management of the local Ambulance Service to record my thanks and gratitude for the good work of two excellent paramedics.

The paramedics insisted on remaining with my wife until she had fully recovered andl they were completely satisfied that she was safe to leave. During this time the paramedics expressed their dissatisfaction with their own inadequate management.

It is a shame that there are some excellent front-line public servants who really are doing a fantastic job. But they, and we, are being let down by a politically correct management system, a system that appears to take a disproportionate percentage of the money that funds the services.

When the paramedic were leaving our home I thanked the two of them for a good job done very well. They both turned to me and thanked me for the opportunity to attend to a real and genuine emergency.

When they received my emergency call the paramedics were on duty in the local town attending to, in their words, “crowds of drunken young girls”. Now that is something the politically correct forces could deal with if only they had the will to do so. Being drunk and disorderly in a public place is an offence that the police and the courts should be handing down meaningful punishments for. But instead, the police and the ambulance services are deployed in towns and cities every Friday and Saturday nights to act as first aid providers to wilful drunks. The full force of the law should be applied; but political correctness prevents just punishments being handed down.

Must have been a huge shock, glad to hear your wife is ok. Any clues as to what brought about the anaphylactic shock? Something she eat perhaps?

There has been umpteen programs about drunknedness in town centres on a Friday/Saturday night on the TV, Some councils even deploy a 'carer bus' where these people can go for a sit down whilst they sober up. Was in Colchester I think. Yet all this is at a time when the licensed trade is supposed to be struggling to survive.

Cameron made some noises about addressing this a week or so ago. The answer is easy although not popular. Alcohol in the supermarkets has never been cheaper and it is probably fair to say a lot of youngsters 'top up' on market bought cheap alcohol before they hit the town.

The paramedics strongly suspect that Brazil nuts were the cause. Wife ate something about 9 0'clock in the evening that contained Brazil nuts. We have been left several pages of notes and print outs to present to our GP on Monday.

Must be a politician's dream ! what a good reason to raise taxes as a protential cure, its like anything else that is popular tax it again and again, why is there no tax on well kept gardens, or sunny days, or a swimming tax, because it aint easy, thats why.

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Its not always the biggest and the bestest, its them that make the least mistakes.

A tax on public drunkenness should be applied; a tax where the offender spends three days and nights in a cell for being drunk in a public place, AND charged the REAL cost of their custody, meals, and police time. That would spoil the offenders' weekend and put a dent in their wallets.

The police do nothing about being drunk in a public place
if you are shouting staggering , cant speak properly etc , you are a danger to yourself , and others
if you want to get drunk , fine , do it at home
I wonder how many people get hit by cars etc , because they are drunk , and not aware of the traffic

Great idea but they would need to raise additional revenue to provide the jail space, cost of custody and police time in the interim and then there is those than cannot or would not pay, that tax would be applied to all of us irrespective of whether we purchase alcohol from supermarkets.

Far better to price it beyond irresponsible reach. Don't get me wrong I don't support additional taxation except in very specific cases, this is one of those. Lets not forget the cost of alcohol has fallen in real terms quite a lot in the last few decades. A six pack of beer costs you pretty much the same today as it did 10 years ago and there has been a fair bit of inflation over that time.
In any event if they can be clever with this and put in place a minimum price per unit. Bottles of scotch and the like would be largely unaffected but it would mean the supermarkets could not sell strong lager, alcopops or cider as cheap as they do currently which it would seem are the drinks causing these problems.

Exactly right John - not to mention the packed out A & E depts on a Friday & Saturday, filled with those injured in drink fuelled fights .........

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I do not suffer fools !!!!!

I am not too concerned about the price of alcohol, but I don't agree with the innocent majority being made to pay for the guilty minority all the time. The policy of penalising everybody for the sins of the few has become a hallmark of what passes for modern 'justice'. It is not just lazy justice; it is inverted justice.

I don't much care how or where drunken offenders are held in custody, and I don't care how much it costs to hold them, so long as the guilty are made to pay for the full cost of processing and holding them. I think it is a very important lesson for the guilty to learn, that they will be made to pay for their individual crimes, and not have their crime commuted into a kind of general failure of society. This has been going on for far too long, and it is long past the time that it was stopped.

There never will be a price that is beyond irresponsible reach for alcohol – the whole drugs scene proves that price has no effect on consumption. It would make more sense to close night clubs, and whatever other places are providing alcohol to the irresponsible. It is already a crime to sell alcohol to anyone under the age of 18. It is also an offence to sell alcohol to anybody who is drunk. What is lacking is the political will to enforce the law. One of the fundamental tactics of war is to destroy the enemy's supply line - so why isn't every establishment that encourages public drunkenness simply closed down.

The police never baulk at mass penalisation of speeding motorists; and local authorities never tire of penalising parking motorists; so why can't a similar enthusiasm for punishing the guilty be applied to public drunkenness? The answer is; the political will is lacking; which strongly suggests that the powers-that-be are quite happy to have drunken hoards creating a public nuisance in towns and cities across the land. The next question is; why are the authorities happy to permit public drunkenness? I suspect one of the reasons is; there is a lot of revenue attached to alcohol sales – and raising the price is simply a method for increasing the revenue take.

Maybe police officers should be offered a sizeable bonus for every public drunk that is successfully sent down by the courts.

Exactly right John - not to mention the packed out A & E depts on a Friday & Saturday, filled with those injured in drink fuelled fights .........[/quo


Tried taxing tobacco and alcohol out of reach: Huge explosion in smuggling and counterfeiting especiallythrough the First Nation reserves.

Net result is a decrease in gathered taxes: increase in smokingand drinking as the illegal stuff is cheap and a growth industry in enforcement which is of cause hamstrung by politicians: Native Rights !!