People with self-inflicted illnesses should move away from Surrey, councillor claims
PATIENTS whose conditions are "self-inflicted" should be driven out of Surrey into concentrated poor areas with low-quality healthcare, a councillor has said.
Councillor John Butcher, an elected member of Elmbridge Borough Council and Surrey County Council (SCC), wants people who become ill due to alcohol, smoking, drugs or obesity to "move away from Surrey" to ensure better healthcare for those who remain.
Under Mr Butcher's plan, the UK would be divided into "equality" and "other" areas – with a 20-year life expectancy gap between them.
In a leaked e-mail to an SCC officer, he wrote: "If the NHS in Surrey were to be run on the basis that patients with self-inflicted morbidity (mainly – smoking, alcohol, narcotics, obesity) and injury (dangerous activities) are, following due warning, placed in a much slower-moving queue for healthcare than 'other' patients, this would encourage the self-inflicted to move away from Surrey, to areas where there is no differentiation between patients on the grounds of their contribution towards their condition.
"And it would deter the self-inflicted from coming to live in Surrey. Over time, that would result in the healthcare for the 'other' patients in Surrey being significantly better than the average national level for all patients, as the resources deployed to the self-inflicted would be very much reduced.
"Eventually the self-inflicted patients would end up living in 'equality' areas that are dominated by politicians who pander to their needs, thus driving more 'other' patients out of those areas, as healthcare there will be badly affected by the over-dominance of the self-inflicted.
"Eventually the country will be sharply divided into two types of area: the 'equality' ones, where the self-inflicted unhealthy are treated the same as all patients, and the 'others', such as, hopefully, Surrey."
The full e-mail and Butcher's subsequent non-apologies can be read here. For more on the dangerous myth that drinkers, smokers and overeaters are a drain on public services, read my paper The Wages of Sin Taxes (PDF).
Well Chris, things are really accelerating now.The lunatics have no restraint. It will be interesting to see the reaction or non action to this suggestion.
ReplyDeleteI do admire his utter derangement:
ReplyDelete"3.1 Everyone in, or aspiring to, a position of public responsibility and everyone in a position to influence the public, including entertainers etc, should be asked to sign a voluntary pledge not to take illegal narcotics or consume excessive alcohol, or drive when so affected.
3.2 Anyone who fails to sign that pledge, or who signs it and breaches it, should be excluded from positions of public responsibility and influence. All public organisations, included regulated broadcasters etc, should agree to impose this exclusion."
*boggle*
Does he really understand the meaning of the word 'voluntary', do you suppose?
ReplyDeleteWhat a splendid idea. Surrey can become a global leader in the principles of Aryan purity, a world first!
ReplyDeleteOh, hold on, didn't someone try doing that already...?
Haven't you heard, if you use the word Aryan purity to describe what is essentially a move for Aryan purity, someone from the tobacco control industry will go public crying that it is intimidation and must be silenced.
ReplyDeleteCan we assume this Parish Pump
ReplyDeletePontificator desires a "Gay Free"
Surrey or would he make an exception to avoid the fury of the
Westminster Pink Junta
The Dark Satanic Mills
Can we assume this Parish Pump
ReplyDeletePontificator desires a "Gay Free"
Surrey or would he make an exception to avoid the fury of the
Westminster Pink Junta
The Dark Satanic Mills
That'd be one hell of a large ghetto.
ReplyDeleteHe looks (and sounds) like Mr Burns out of The Simpsons
ReplyDeleteHe hasn't mentioned injuries from such things as contact sports, extreme sports or motorcycling, as voluntary and self-inflicted by his rationale. On a personal note, would he allow Irish into Surrey ?
ReplyDeleteJews anybody ?
Fair enough if he is willing to let smokers and such stop paying national insurance
ReplyDeleteThis man is mentally ill.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations for making the Tobacco Tactics Naughty List!
ReplyDeleteI have absolutely no problem with what Butcher proposes on the proviso that Mr Butcher offers himself for regular daily checks for traces of tobacco, alcohol and regualtion of his BMI. And should he be found to have any trace of tobacco or alcohol in his body or exceeed the nationally recognised BMI limit he will be stripped of public office and sent to live in the "ghetto" he so lovingly established.
ReplyDeleteWhat's that Mr. Butcher? Preposterous you say? Well you know what you can do with your proposals then.
In his ideal world there'd have to be a couple of new candidates come next election
ReplyDeletehttp://www.surreycountyconservatives.co.uk/page/8/
Congratulations on your new nickname, Mr. Councilman: THE BUTCHER OF SURREY - a name that will stick ...
ReplyDeleteRob said...
ReplyDeleteThis man is mentally ill.
Dear Rob,
Please note that he did NOT exclude the mentally ill from living in his district.
Gary K.
Taken to it's logical conclusion, the very act of remaining alive is a self inflicted condition.
ReplyDeleteWhoops, aberrant apostrophe. Should be "its".
ReplyDeleteGood job the Chelsea players go private - all those self inficted knee and achilles injuries at Cobham.
ReplyDeleteSadly, this lunatic ideology is very common, and frequently found in otherwise intelligent and well educated people.
ReplyDeleteI think the mindset sometimes arises from an unthinking support for the welfare state, coupled with a realisation that it isn't working. The easy way out is to make the welfare state serve only the "deserving": but these idiots don't seem to realise that it won't then be a welfare state.
What's wrong with you all, he only wants to make Surrey a healthy place I mean I its seems fair to me to quote Dickens it will reduce the surplus population. JUST WHAT I'VE ALWAYS SAID TORIES ARE AS SENSIBLE AND USEFUL AS A PENNYFARTHING ON A MOTORWAY AND AS CARING AS CHARLES MANSON.
ReplyDeletei CAN NOT believe what s in this article...thisman should be kicked out of his position, brought into the street and rolled out the street for such IDEAS and PLUS beated for WRITING DOWN such things!!!! he is a working man for ALL people !!!!! did some people forget whats happened in history when we "pick off" a part of population? and bring them eventually in a so called "camp"?????? i can not believe this . I CAN NOT BELIEVE THIS !!!!!
ReplyDeleteI had a shoulder injury in surrey when the queen was there!
ReplyDelete