{"id":2283691,"date":"2024-06-26T04:01:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-26T08:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nurses-murder-trials-show-problems-of-socialized-medicine\/"},"modified":"2024-06-26T04:10:45","modified_gmt":"2024-06-26T08:10:45","slug":"nurses-murder-trials-show-problems-of-socialized-medicine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nurses-murder-trials-show-problems-of-socialized-medicine\/","title":{"rendered":"Nurse&#8217;s Murder Trials Show Problems Of Socialized Medicine"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnurses-murder-trials-show-problems-of-socialized-medicine%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2283691&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>This summary focuses on the ongoing legal and public \u2064scrutiny of the UK&#8217;s National \u200bHealth\u2063 Service (NHS) highlighted \u200cby the case \u200dof Lucy Letby, a \u2062nurse who worked in a\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/court-rules-north-carolina-abortion-ban-unconstitutional\/\" title=\"Court Rules North Carolina Abortion Ban Unconstitutional\">neonatal intensive care unit<\/a> and was convicted of murdering\u2064 seven babies and attempting to murder\u200d six others. The case \u2062has surfaced two critical narratives \u2062about the \u2063NHS:<\/p>\n<p>1. **Bureaucracy and Culture of Silence:** \u200bEvidence from \u200bthe trial\u200c suggests a systemic issue within the\u200b NHS, where\u200d concerns\u200c about protecting the institution&#8217;s reputation overshadowed the safety of patients. Instances were noted where hospital staff\u2063 who raised alarms about Letby faced \u200dretribution, including being forced to apologize to\u200b her despite her being at the center of multiple\u2063 patient deaths. Further criticisms focus on a lack of\u200b timely action\u2064 by the \u2063NHS which,\u2063 despite\u2062 being flagged\u2062 by internal and external\u200b bodies for\u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/los-angeles-teachers-union-votes-to-resist-a-premature-return-to-school-sites\/\" title=\"Los Angeles Teachers Union Votes \u2018To Resist A Premature\u2019 Return To School Sites\">safety improvements<\/a>, did\u2062 not address \u200dan increase in newborn deaths immediately.<\/p>\n<p>2. **Scapegoating\u200d and Systemic Failings:** A contrasting view presented,\u200d particularly in \u200da feature by The New Yorker, posits \u2062that Letby might be a scapegoat for broader systemic failures within the NHS. This narrative highlights several\u2064 instances of inadequate\u2064 staffing \u200cand resources which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/96-of-pharmacy-technicians-report-drug-shortages-half-of-patients-never-get-the-medicine-they-need-survey\/\" title=\"96% of pharmacy techs report drug shortages, 50% of patients lack necessary medicine: survey.\">compromised patient care<\/a>, suggesting that \u2064systemic inadequacies might have contributed\u200b to the tragic outcomes attributed to Letby. This includes examples of delayed treatments and mismanagement in \u200cemergency \u200cprocedures that were not directly related to\u200d Letby\u200b but\u2063 indicative of larger systemic\u2062 issues.<\/p>\n<p>The debate continues on whether Letby&#8217;s actions\u200d are solely to \u2063blame \u200dor if they spotlight deeper, systemic problems within the NHS that compromise\u200d patient\u200d safety.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Across the pond in the United Kingdom, court proceedings are providing a sharp spotlight on the harms associated with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-committee-deadlocks-on-becerra-nomination\/\" title=\"Senate Committee Deadlocks on Becerra Nomination\">government-run health care<\/a>. While the immediate trial involves a single nurse, in a larger sense, the entire system of socialized medicine stands in the dock.<\/p>\n<p>Lucy Letby, who worked for Britain\u2019s National Health Service (NHS) in a neonatal intensive care unit, is being <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/uk-news\/article\/2024\/jun\/19\/lucy-letby-doctor-oxygen-levels\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">retried<\/a> for the attempted murder of one of her patients. Last year, a jury <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/world\/uk\/british-uk-nurse-lucy-letby-killed-babies-on-the-job-life-sentence-a5753b87?mod=article_inline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">convicted<\/a> Letby of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others, while acquitting her of two murders and deadlocking on the murder of four babies.<\/p>\n<p>We may never know the specific circumstances behind each of the tragic deaths Letby is associated with. But regardless of whether she was to blame for some, or none, of the children who passed, it\u2019s very clear what is to blame for all of them: Britain\u2019s National Health Service.<\/p>\n<h2>Scenario 1: Bureaucracy Enabled a Murderer<\/h2>\n<p>Statements made before the most recent trial reveal an NHS culture seemingly more focused on protecting its reputation than ensuring that patients were protected from a potential criminal on their staff.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, when hospital staff <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/world\/uk\/british-uk-nurse-lucy-letby-killed-babies-on-the-job-life-sentence-a5753b87?mod=article_inline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">raised concerns<\/a> about the nurse being at the center of several patient deaths, \u201cLetby responded by filing a bullying complaint against the doctors in late 2016. The hospital apologized to her and pressured two doctors to write an apology to Letby in early 2017.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One of the doctors forced to apologize to Letby <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/uk-news\/article\/2024\/jun\/19\/lucy-letby-doctor-oxygen-levels\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">testified<\/a> at the recent trial that, when he tried to raise concerns, \u201cwe were explicitly told at that stage it was the wrong thing to contact the police because it would be bad for the reputation of the trust and there would be blue and white tape everywhere.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>This doctor, who tried but failed to raise the alarm, said that \u201cit\u2019s a matter of infinite regret I didn\u2019t handle it differently\u201d and that the deaths of the children are \u201cgoing to be in my nightmares forever.\u201d But the real fault lies among the higher-ups who were more worried about \u201cthe reputation of the trust\u201d than the possibility that one of their own staff was deliberately murdering patients.<\/p>\n<p>In February 2016, Britain\u2019s Care Quality Commission audited the hospital and said the pediatric wing needed safety improvements. But the commission <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/world\/uk\/british-uk-nurse-lucy-letby-killed-babies-on-the-job-life-sentence-a5753b87?mod=article_inline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a> The Wall Street Journal \u201cthat the agency hadn\u2019t been made aware of the increase in newborn baby deaths at the time of its review.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then as a result of publicity surrounding the Letby case, a group representing NHS whistleblowers has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/uk-68620676\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">claimed<\/a> that \u201ca culture detrimental to patient safety\u201d pervades the entire service.<\/p>\n<h2>Scenario 2: Nurse as the Scapegoat for a Flawed System<\/h2>\n<p>On the other hand, a lengthy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2024\/05\/20\/lucy-letby-was-found-guilty-of-killing-seven-babies-did-she-do-it\">feature article<\/a> published in The New Yorker in May took a contrarian view: that Letby has become a scapegoat by being at the center of a series of awful coincidences. The story hypothesizes that statements Letby made that the public viewed as an admission of crimes were instead the byproducts of a nurse wracked by guilt that she couldn\u2019t care for her patients properly. In so doing, The New Yorker provides numerous examples of poor and under-resourced care provided by the NHS hospital in question.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, one of the nurses on Letby\u2019s unit admitted that \u201cwe had massive staffing issues,\u201d with people being asked to take extra shifts \u2014 the same conclusion reached by a team from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. Then there\u2019s this:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>An inquest for a newborn who died in 2014, a year before the deaths for which Letby was charged, found that doctors had inserted a breathing tube into the baby\u2019s esophagus rather than his trachea, ignoring several indications that the tube was misplaced. \u201cI find it surprising these signs were not realised,\u201d the coroner said, according to the <em>Daily Express<\/em>. The boy\u2019s mother told the paper that \u201cstaff shortages meant blood tests and X-rays were not assessed for seven hours and there was one doctor on duty who was splitting his time between the neonatal ward and the children\u2019s ward.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>A baby delivered via C-section, \u201ca girl who was dusky and limp when she was born, should have been treated with antibiotics immediately, doctors later acknowledged, but nearly four hours passed before she was given the medication. \u2026 The baby continued to deteriorate throughout the [next] night and could not be revived.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Given these instances of substandard care, several of which have nothing to do with her, one <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/undercover-okeefe-video-disney-vp-says-the-company-discriminates-against-white-men\/\" title=\"Undercover Video: Disney VP Admits Company Discriminates Against White Men\">law professor told<\/a> The New Yorker that Letby had been turned into a \u201cfall girl\u201d for the NHS\u2019s broader failings: <\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Looking for a responsible human \u2014 this is what the police are good at. What is not in the police\u2019s remit is finding a systemic problem in an organization like the National Health Service, after decades of underfunding, where you have overworked people cutting little corners with very vulnerable babies who are already in a risk category. It is much more satisfying to say there was a bad person, there was a criminal, than to deal with the outcome of government policy.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The fact remains, however, that government policy lies at the heart of the Lucy Letby case.<\/p>\n<h2>Problem of Government Control<\/h2>\n<p>Whether Letby committed the crimes as alleged matters a great deal to the families of the deceased children, who have searched in vain for nearly a decade for answers and explanations regarding their children\u2019s deaths. But when it comes to larger questions about Britain\u2019s NHS, the question of whether Letby actually murdered her patients seems somewhat beside the point. As James Freeman of The Wall Street Journal recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/the-grisly-annals-of-socialized-medicine-57391b79\">observed<\/a>, \u201c[E]ither the government bureaucracy enabled the killer or the government bureaucracy <em>is<\/em> the killer\u201d (emphasis original).<\/p>\n<p>Therein lies the problem with government-run health care, where politics takes precedence over patients. The Lucy Letby case shows an NHS focused more on saving face than saving patients \u2014 the result of politicians trying to control the purse strings and a bureaucratic culture with little accountability. <\/p>\n<p>So the next time Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., or any of his colleagues claim that socialized medicine benefits patients, remind them about Lucy Letby and the children who died in her care.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div>\n<p>      Chris Jacobs is founder and CEO of Juniper Research Group, and author of the book &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/1645720020\">The Case Against Single Payer<\/a>.&#8221; He is on Twitter: <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/chrisjacobsHC\">@chrisjacobsHC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the UK, a court case is casting a harsh light on the drawbacks of government-run healthcare. Although the trial primarily concerns nurse Lucy Letby, it symbolically puts the entire socialized medicine system, represented by the NHS, under scrutiny<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":2283692,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Baby-on-incubator-photo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4606,32779,32777,5898,32778],"class_list":["post-2283691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-healthcare","tag-legal-issues","tag-murder-trials","tag-nurse","tag-socialized-medicine"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Baby-on-incubator-photo.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2283691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2283691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2283691\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2283692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2283691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2283691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2283691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}