Bent and Broken

November 3, 2009

In England, it has been 10 months since Torron Eeles broke his arm, leaving it severely twisted. Eeles said surgery to repair the arm has been canceled four times: twice because of a lack of beds, once because doctors believed his blood pressure was too high, and once because he is a smoker. The National Health Service insists it only canceled the surgery twice: once because of his blood pressure and once because he ignored a doctor's orders to quit smoking.

Comments

|11.3.09 @ 6:25AM|#

The link is misposted. Here's the fix:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/hea.....g-arm.html

|11.3.09 @ 1:46PM|#

"once because he ignored a doctor's orders to quit smoking"

what does smoking have to do with a broken humerous? how much longer until weight and fitness level are excuses to deny care to those who are a drain on the system?

|11.3.09 @ 1:53PM|#

Smoking impairs healing.

umilmi81|11.3.09 @ 6:15PM|#

How much?

Grilled CS|11.4.09 @ 4:24PM|#

That sure didn't stop his bones from fusing together at the wrong angle. This was mentioned in the Mirror's coverage.

LarryA|11.3.09 @ 5:47PM|#

what does smoking have to do with a broken humerous? how much longer until weight and fitness level are excuses to deny care to those who are a drain on the system?

Unfortunately, I think we in the U.S. are about to find out.

Oh, I forgot. We have The Right People In Charge.

umilmi81|11.3.09 @ 6:16PM|#

We have finally realized the Founders dream of being a Nation of Great Men rather than a Nation of Laws.

|11.3.09 @ 1:55PM|#

That being said, WTF is up with not reducing the fracture and casting it?

DADIODADDY|11.3.09 @ 9:35PM|#

anybody got a cigarette?

Mr Eeles|11.3.09 @ 11:20PM|#

I'd hand you one, but...

BarryJV|11.4.09 @ 7:06AM|#

If two operations were cancelled for clinical reasons, this problem cannot be blamed on the health service. If four operations were cancelled, two of them for administrative reasons because of a bed shortage, it can be blamed on the health service.

Could the Telegraph journalist really not spare a few hours to check who was telling the truth before writing the story?

|11.5.09 @ 1:32PM|#

No English Journalism is crap.

Tom O'Neill|11.9.09 @ 7:49PM|#

This will be the US health care system in about 3 years if this thing passes. Health care for everyone-on the governments terms. The National Health Service is negligent in their duties.