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.
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Elmbridge councillor John Butcher
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.
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"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.
"Average life expectancy will be substantially lower (by, say, 20 years) in the 'equality' areas."
Mr Butcher, who described the NHS as a "Marxist" organisation doomed to fail, stated house prices would crash in "equality" areas, while rich areas like Surrey would become increasingly exclusive.
The Cobham councillor, who sits on SCC's Health Scrutiny Committee, added: "Any political party that seeks to pander to the needs of the self-inflicted unhealthy, and to win their votes, will suffer twofold: mortality will ensure that its voters will be much fewer in number than the 'others', and by concentrating its voters into particular areas, that party will never be able to win enough seats to dominate Parliament."Responding to Mr Butcher's comments Karen Randolph, chairman of Save Our Surrey Community Hospitals, said: "I think it makes his position untenable. It does nothing to improve the credibility of the Health Scrutiny Committee."I have to question why the Conservative administration of Surrey think it is appropriate to have someone who holds those sorts of views on the committee."- For more on this story, pick up a copy of next week's Leatherhead Advertiser
Comments
by DTaurus
Saturday, June 16 2012, 3:46PM
“@sureditch. Perhaps the other commentees have missed your irony. The use of 'volk', 'camps' and 'hail' being clues methinks. :-)
Yes Butcher is a Nazi, and his feet should not touch the ground after he's cleared his desk of his no doubt clean living and healthy family (and the Luger he keeps in the third draw on the right with the post-its).
The fact that Surrey is now bereft of a working-class, or a lage group proud enough to call themselves one since the Thatcher years, is why I find it a less appealing place to live these days. Lived in Huddersfield for the last four years, and other than a few mollycoddled students, I don't have to endure allowance crazed teens queueing outside Jack Wills for £80 pajama bottoms these days. "Big sigh of refief"”
by Benjamin90
Monday, June 11 2012, 12:10AM
“As someone who has just written a 12,000 word paper on Inequality and Sweden I wholeheartedly agree with josephinedoll. Every researched academic argument goes against every word of councillor Butcher's suggestion. Not to mention the immoral concept of segregation for any reason. What happened to tolerance in British society?
If this is the sort of political career councillor Butcher wishes to pursue I suggest he take up residence in Texas' 14th Congressional District where this kind of ludicrous, Ron Paul-esque, you get what you pay for healthcare, might go down well.”
by Paceduck
Monday, June 04 2012, 12:26PM
“I wonder if Mr Butcher's view would remain the same if the following happened: - He was sacked for his comments and unable to obtain gainful employment elsewhere, he lost his lovely Surrey home, his wife left him, his kids were disgraced, a left wing extremist shot him in the leg and what followed was a life of depression and debility, he turned to alcohol to self medicate during his dark times, became ill, treatment in his local hospital was denied on the basis of his original policy. Would the Butcher then wish to perhaps review his policies retrospectively? In the words of Liam Neeson....'your arrogance offends me'”
by Moebiusalive
Saturday, June 02 2012, 8:51PM
“Silly, silly man.
We residents of Surrey are so rich that we are glad to give to our needy neighbours.
Or.
Working class Surrey residents charitably donate a councilor for the Syrian cabinet.
Self-inflicted resignation methinks.”
by sureditch
Saturday, June 02 2012, 12:49PM
“Councillor Butcher has got this spot on. The taxpayers of Surrey should not have to fund the care of malingerers. A policy of cleansing the county of those with self-inflicted illness would be doubly beneficial. It would improve healthcare for the remaining volk, and serve to bolster house prices as more people like us moved here. It would also lessen the marxist demand for more "affordable housing", leaving us with more living space.
Of course provision would have to be made to house low paid workers, such as cleaners and gardeners, but this could be provided in camps built for the purpose. They could be provided free in return for work, and this fact could be advertised on the entrances.
Well said sir, all hail! The people of Surrey will thank you for your stand.”
by 33sunflower
Saturday, June 02 2012, 11:39AM
“Cannot believe what im reading. Tell me do you also belong to the bnp party?”
by josephinedoll
Saturday, June 02 2012, 4:10AM
“ARE YOU ACTUALLY F@£KING KIDDING ME. I could point to the reams of medical literature that state that the most thriving communities are ones where equity of available services and economies is closest; and I could point out real life examples like the Scandinavian countries, and conversely places like South Africa. I could say that precisely the poorest, the sickest people need the most help, or point out that the whole premise of the NHS is to provide universal healthcare according to need, free at the point of delivery.
But I won't, because this guy is clearly a moron. Let's make this go viral and get the nutter sacked.”