The Prime Minister’s spokesman just told a sceptical Lobby that it was a fact that global healthcare systems are facing significant strain and this was not unique to Britain. Though, as is often the case with the British media, it’s worth looking beyond the usual horizon of the M25.  As a winter strain hits the NHS, press coverage is awash with catastrophic headlines. The BBC repeats claims that the NHS is “on a knife edge” as The Guardian decries an “intolerable crisis” – their columnists, unsurprisingly, are clamouring for healthcare to be put on a “war footing”. The BMA has been quick to capitalise on the whipped-up frenzy, accusing the government of making a “political choice” leading to patients dying unnecessarily, as Labour pins it on “mismanagement”. The Liberal Democrats are urging the government to pointlessly recall parliament early…

That the prevalence of health system pressures is a global phenomenon is borne out in the world’s headlines:

• Canada’s hospitals are at “full capacity”, they also face a shortage of doctors and nurses. The president of the Ontario medical service says they have a “health-care system that’s broken”. It is being called a “national crisis” as provincial  leaders urged Trudeau to meet them and discuss solutions. Socialised healthcare in Toronto sees patients waiting up to 45 hours for emergency treatment, with 90% waiting 12 hours.
• The German healthcare system is being “pushed to its limit” due to a rise in viral infections, with the scene in children’s hospitals especially “dramatic”. This is according to the head of the board of the German Hospital Association.
• Italy’s healthcare system has a “sustainability crisis”.
• France is facing a “triple epidemic”, according to their healthcare minister. The country has hospitals in crisis, medical deserts and a shortage of doctors and nurses. This is all the while their GPs are continuing their walk out.
• The Swiss healthcare system is “pushed to the limit”, with children’s hospitals under “massive pressure”. This is despite the fact it remains a favoured destination of European healthcare professionals.
• American hospitals are the fullest they’ve been over the pandemic, whilst the system faces a “fiscal implosion”.
• Ireland is suffering “record waiting times”. Healthcare boss Damien McCallion said emergency departments are becoming extremely busy due to the “unprecedented combination of very high levels of flu, Covid-19 and other respiratory illnesses in the community”.

Despite what the BBC might have you believe, coronavirus, flu and strep A aren’t a uniquely British creation of the Tory government…

It wouldn’t be Christmas without doom-laden headlines about Coronavirus. Yesterday the Guardian published scary new data headlined “Number of people in hospital with Covid in England rises 22% in a week”.  22% sounds high. Is it time to dust off those face masks?

According to the NHS data in the Guardian piece, 6,720 people were in hospital with Covid on 14 December, up from 5,501 the week before. The key point, however, is this, buried towards the bottom of the story:

“Some patients in hospital with Covid are likely to have been admitted for a different reason”.

Some? The Office for National Statistics data for this week shows that around 65% of Covid hospitalisation patients are actually being treated primarily for something else. They just happen to have tested positive. Stand down. No need to renew your Joe Wicks subscription or start baking banana bread at home again…

Last night the Guardian published what must be the most damning revelation of Rishi’s premiership yet: he has private healthcare. How the government recovers from this after tomato-gate is anyone’s guess…

Almost half of the story is dedicated to the manufactured outrage of activists and campaign groups, with the co-chair of “Keep Our NHS Public” quoted as saying “It should be no surprise that Rishi Sunak has private medical care arrangements; this will be the norm for many of the rich and powerful…”, and Dr Ellen Welch of the Doctors’ Association UK claiming “If NHS general practice continues to be neglected and private practice becomes the norm, it is the least well-off who will suffer.” Suffering by reducing pressure on NHS services, apparently…

Well, if private healthcare is the norm for the “rich and powerful”, Keep Our NHS Public must be furious at appearing in the Guardian. Here are the benefits of working at GNM (Guardian News & Media):

What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander…

Marina Hyde has a new book out based on her often hilariously opinionated and searing columns – usually decrying Brexit and roasting the political players involved. In a real turn up for the books, the Guardian columnist has some sound opinions that Guido heartily agrees with – particularly on the Guidoisation of politics. This is the idea that democratic politics, which has long been recognised as a branch of show business for ugly people, is increasingly a sub-genre of reality television, with interchangeable characters. That’s not a particularly left/right belief.

In an interview about the book she argues that generally we have an “unbelievably bad crop of politicians”. More specifically soundly, when Channel 4’s Krishnan Guru-Murthy asks the classic beauty pageant contestant’s question, “If you could change anything in the world, what would you change now?”, instead of calling for world peace, Marina calls for the simplification of the tax system, implicitly endorsing a long standing policy goal of the Taxpayers’ Alliance. She praises Hong Kong’s slimmed-down system, which whilst progressively starting at 2%, goes up to a maximum top rate of just 17%. It also has clear and simple tax rules with few loopholes. James Roberts, managing director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, says “It’s heart-warming to hear of comrade columnists now calling out the complex and burdensome tax system. Get in touch and we’ll sign you up!” Something to splurge the royalties on, Marina.

“What Just Happened?!: Dispatches from Turbulent Times” – Marina Hyde

The Guardian struck it rich in their ongoing opposition to fracking on Wednesday when geologist Chris Cornelius, one of the founders of Cuadrilla’s shale operation in the North West, threw shade at the chances of the industry re-opening.

The geology in Lancashire isn’t conducive, he said. It’s too expensive, investors won’t fund it, it won’t lead to “a meaningful supply of new gas”, the regulatory environment is oppressive, and there’s no social license for it.

It’s true the anti-frackers have polluted the environment with fake-news stories of “flaming faucets” and being “thrown out of bed” by earth tremors 2.9 on Richter (a level that is barely discernible on the surface). The clean-up of the information environment will take decades.

Chris Cornelius may or may not be right in his various assessments, though they are all out of his area of expertise. The industry has advanced since his time, the regulatory environment can be changed, the law against illegal protest behaviour can be tightened, provision for national pricing might be introduced. Time will tell.

The certainties that he – and most anti-frackers – express are no better than opinions (“A dangerous fantasy . . . cheaper than renewables . . . do nothing to cut bills” – Ed Miliband.)

In the matter of investment there is a pipeline of cash ready to flow, not least from Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS.

Cornelius’ one area of expertise is undermined by Francis Egan, current CEO of Cuadrilla, who wrote to the Guardian rebutting his geological assertions:

“Mr Cornelius left Cuadrilla more than a decade ago and has not been involved in the coring, fracking or flow testing of recent wells by Cuadrilla and other industry players, and does not have the most recently available data. His knowledge base is more than a little dated and we completely disagree with the conclusions he consequently draws.”

The Guardian declined to publish the letter…

Classic sneering Guardian editorial this morning

“Royal rituals are contrived affairs meant to generate popular attachment to a privileged institution and to serve as reminders of a glorious past. Monarchy’s power rests upon a central myth; that traditions and ceremonies have remained unchanged over 1,000 years of family drama. In reality the parades and commemoration services have been invented, and reinvented, to preserve the monarchy’s relevance. However, they are also essentially ephemeral, devoid of anything more powerful than that which is sentimental and evocative. How much Britain will be changed once this moment floats past the country is as yet unknown.”

Of course that didn’t stop the Guardian’s editor Kath Viner accepting a ticket to the funeral from the “privileged institution” herself. Maybe she’s sentimental…