‘Ageism’ He Says……..

The one and only John McCririck.

Funny how when the tables are turned on Channel 4 Horse Racing pundit John McCririck he suddenly screams discrimination!

This from the chap who outwardly admits his derision for women! Viewing them as mere tools to be used by the greater and more powerful men in the world, himself included (or deluded)!

This cry of unfair dismissal was raised when the 72 year old was told by CH4 that they no longer required his ‘unique’ presenting skills. They have decided to reboot their programming, and Mr McCririck was not going to be part of it.

Mr McCririck then claimed it was his age, CH4 were being discriminatory against him. Perhaps CH4 had merely had enough of his ridiculous antics, not to mention the constant complaints from his female colleagues regarding his sexism!

Regardless, McCririck is determined to take this to court.

Seems that now he is on the receiving end of something he deems unfair, he has transformed himself it this paragon of virtue, this crusader of rights (as long as they don’t include women’s rights of course).

This screams sour grapes on McCririck part. It is a deed being done for his own wallet, not to highlight or prevent work place discrimination. John McCririck maybe many things, but an advocate of fairness and equality he is not, nor ever has he been! Just ask his long suffering servant, I mean his wife!

So, it seems that after years of hating women and treating them like dirt, he is finally reaping what he has sown. Albeit, in his own head, not in reality. Yet, even if CH4 were ageist they would be in good company; McCririck has disregarded discrimination laws and in fact advocated discrimination for many years. So, how can he now claim to be suffering at the hands of something he once heralded as a good thing?

I cannot keep a straight face over his absolute gall! I’m not sure how anyone listening to or partaking in these following court proceedings will either.

Lets just hope he gets an all woman jury! Fingers crossed, though I know that will be an outsider chance to beat any odds McCririck has ever given during his time as racing pundit!

The Declining Health of The NHS

A recent report investigated claims that foreign ‘health tourists’ are able to buy their way onto UK NHS patient lists with GP surgeries.

Apparently these cases of bribery aren’t a one off, but an epidemic. BBC’s Panorama sent undercover reporters to various GP surgeries, where they posed as ‘health tourists’. These reporters subsequently managed to buy their way onto GP lists for substantial amounts of money. They were then referred to hospitals for treatment, even though their complaints were not critical emergencies.

Every health tourist who pays a GP or Health Centre to be registered is handing their money over illegally, and depriving a UK citizen of treatment. The NHS is based on entitlement; as a UK resident you have access to the system, it has nothing to do with how much cash you cough up. This illegal act is heinous enough, but the fact that it then leads to abuse of, an advantage taking of an already under-strain system, is disgusting. People wait long enough for hospital referrals, and to have treatment; even then the service is slow and poor. There is also the post code lottery to contend with; what treatment and medication received depends on where you live in the country! Yet, ‘health tourists’ don’t have this concern, but they are not even UK residents!

People in the UK pay National Insurance to be included in the health system, but they have no privileges. Why then should a health tourist?! This abuse of paying for registration to gain access to the NHS should be dealt with swiftly, before such precious resources are drained dry from the UK residents. Where are the tighter and tougher independent checks, controls and regulations for surgeries to adhere to, to prevent abuses of power? Who is checking on the NHS to make sure money isn’t being wasted and resources aren’t being misused? I mean, it is only a billion pound a year to keep the NHS ticking over, shoddy as it is; but hey that is OK, we have money and resources to waste. The NHS is open to everyone without one question being asked! It seems the NHS believes it has money to burn!

If you are not eligible for free treatment then you should be paying for it, it is that simply surely?! Yet, it is estimated that over the last 3 years health tourism has been allowed to get away with depriving the NHS of over £40 million! It is law that a person has to have been living in the UK for the last year to receive free treatment; although GP surgeries, walk in surgeries and A&E services can overlook this if the case is deemed severe, infectious or life threatening. Hospitals should check a patient’s residential status to ensure they live in the UK, but they don’t; in fact 133 Hospital Trusts didn’t check at all! A mistake, well not one to be forgiven when it has cost the country millions!

People who venture to the UK just to take advantage of what they believe to be another ‘free’ system available for them to abuse should be stopped. It is unfair to expect UK residents to continue paying into a system that is so poorly regulated, and so often abused. Would any other billion pound business be so lax in their regulations and accounts? NO! People in the UK are already paying into the system and hoping they will receive good treatment, but every year the satisfaction with service declines, as money leaks from the NHS. Now one of the reasons for such leakage has been revealed it should be fixed immediately. The NHS’s belt needs tightening, or UK residents will continue to lose out.

The sign says it all!

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© Bex Houghagen and The Savvy Senorita, 2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Bex Houghagen and The Savvy Senorita with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.