Brit NHS: Diagnoses by Phone, No Meat on Hospital Menus

(UK) The National Health Service (NHS) in Britain is instituting policy changes to reduce carbon emissions and, as the largest public sector employer in the country, to lead the nation in the fight against global warming.

Ministers want family doctors to hold more 'phone-in' surgeries to help the environment by cutting carbon emissions from cars.

They also want hospitals to achieve their green targets by reducing the amount of meat they serve to patients in wards.

With Dial-A-Doctor diagnostics and meat erased from the menu, the NHS hopes to see a 10 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2015. According to NHS Chief Executive David Nicholson, "I want to encourage NHS staff to really get involved and do their bit to create a greener NHS."

Critics claim that telephone diagnoses are dangerous and could lead to incorrect treatment or death. Taxpayers' Alliance spokesman Mark Wallace indicated that the environment is again being used to trim health care services.

Logically, the give-everything-to-everybody socialized medical scheme is flawed in theory because it assumes infinite resources. Resources are not infinite and, as a consequence, Brits should expect health care services to be further pared back to reduce costs.

It's predictable that future reductions in health services will be needed and they will be justified as saving the planet or "for the children" or maybe something new and innovative will come out of the political correctness toy box.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.