Sicko
I finally got to see Sicko on the weekend.
Is Sicko a well-made documentary? Yes.
Does it show that the American healthcare system is crap and needs improvement? Yes.
Does it show that the health care systems in UK, France and Cuba are so much better, in comparison?
I don't think so.
As a public hospital worker, I can identify the problems with a universal health care system. Sicko makes no mention of surgery waiting lists, ambulance bypasses, hospital budgets, formularies and cutbacks, strike action and unsafe, dangerous or old hospital wards. And this is just in Victoria.
I am not saying I want our system to be like the one in the US -which is unfair, nasty and expensive - but the film does gloss over some significant problems with health care in countries like Australia (which is fairly low down on WHO's list anyway.)
Saying all that, France looked pretty good, didn't it?
Is Sicko a well-made documentary? Yes.
Does it show that the American healthcare system is crap and needs improvement? Yes.
Does it show that the health care systems in UK, France and Cuba are so much better, in comparison?
I don't think so.
As a public hospital worker, I can identify the problems with a universal health care system. Sicko makes no mention of surgery waiting lists, ambulance bypasses, hospital budgets, formularies and cutbacks, strike action and unsafe, dangerous or old hospital wards. And this is just in Victoria.
I am not saying I want our system to be like the one in the US -which is unfair, nasty and expensive - but the film does gloss over some significant problems with health care in countries like Australia (which is fairly low down on WHO's list anyway.)
Saying all that, France looked pretty good, didn't it?