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Old 16-02-2008, 12:12 AM   #3
mikey
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: UK
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I agree that drink-related incidents are a big problem for hospitals, especially at the weekend. But aside from the fact that this would never work in practice, it's fundamentally against what the NHS stands for - free medical treatment for ALL. People who needed care would be unwilling to go to A and E, even if they needed it.
Besides, where would they draw the line? What about people who have one glass of wine but then fall down the stairs? Would it be fair to make them pay? And then you start to look at other activities which have risks, and which can be seen to be 'self-inflicted'. How about driving? There's a risk there. Obesity - yup, that's a risk. Smoking? How about if you don't eat your '5 a day' of fruit and veg and develop colon cancer; is that then your own fault? This isn't the solution at all. We need a culture change; we need to change the whole attitude towards drinking, and that is going to take a very very long time.



There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who, when presented with a glass that is exactly half full, say: 'This glass is half full'. And then there are those who say: 'This glass is half empty'.
The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: 'What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!

Terry Pratchett


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