Rallying call to save Royal British Legion clubs
- Today's leader
Whitchurch war veteran ‘on scrapheap’
Monday 1st August 2011, 11:31AM BST.
Bill Venables
An 86-year-old Shropshire World War Two veteran today vowed to return his campaign medals to the Government after claiming he was being made to wait so long for a cataract operation that he risked losing his eyesight.
Bill Venables, of Sharps Drive, Whitchurch, said he felt as if he had been “tossed on the scrapheap” as he faces a nine-month wait.
Mr Venables said he was referred by his GP last year but by the time he had his first consultation at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, in June this year, doctors warned him his sight was so impaired he might have to relinquish his driving licence.
Mr Venables says he relies on driving because he is a full-time carer for his wife of 60 years Margery.
Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust today said it was looking into the concerns.
Mr Venables, who served in the Royal Navy for more than a decade, has now opted for private treatment at the Nuffield Hospital in Shrewsbury, leaving him with a £5,000 medical bill.
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Whilst I have sympathy for anyone who faces a wait for any treatment the fact that somebody served in the armed forces should not be a reason to be fast-tracked or was this just another case of the press trying to pigeon-hole somebody.
It must be a first where a member of the forces is not immediately labelled a hero.
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Perhaps you could take the time to read the post properly CD.
At NO point did he say was wanting to be fast tracked just because he was in the forces. His sight is so bad that he may be unable to drive, and he IS a full time carer for his, wife. That is why he needs urgent treatment,and indeed, deserves it.
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That’s true, he didn’t say he’s wanting to be fast tracked because he was in the forces, but by threatening to return his medals in protest (and contacting the paper) he’s clearly playing the war veteran card.
That aside, I thought cataract operations were relatively simple and relatively inexpensive, so I don’t understand why it takes so long for anybody to be treated.
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This is just typical of the UK at the moment. Someone who “did his bit” when it mattered, gets treated like this. A member of the royal family gets a slight chill, and 3 Harley street doctors are called in.
Priorities all wrong. Best of luck Bill.
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it is not of this moment it has allways been so—-the disgracefull treatment and brush-aside policy of the brit governments–towards service personnell due to luck of age–i missed out of conscription the very last ones my opinion is it is not worth joining the armed services today you only come back in bits or with psicho problems
rendering you unfit to led a normal life again adn have to jump through hoops to get any rightfull benefeits
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I would like to know how this gentleman can be
simply pushed aside,after serving his country
and a lifetime of contributions and honesty?
I also ask how come a career criminal like
Ronald Biggs can live in £30,000 a year carehome and also receive a state pension.
Maybe he sent his tax and NI contributions from Brazil over a forty year period.
Could the DWP and or government (shame on them) provide an answer to myself and many millions of honest taxpayers?
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Mr Cameron & Co
In the words of well known motown song,
I’m still waiting !
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Sparky – I have some bad news for you. David Cameron probably doesn’t spend all his day feverishly trawling the Shropshire Star website in case you pose a question to him. Clearly if he had any sense he WOULD, but you can’t tell these politicians anything.
So, if you really want to get through to him, here’s what you need to do; write your question (in green ink, in your VERY best hand writing) to –
Mr Prime Minister
Big House
London
And pop the letter up your..umm..chimney.
I have a funny feeling he will ignore that too. Politicians eh?
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pick,
I’m sure he doesn’t but i’m just trying to make a point.
Although I bet our local MP may have an occasional look at it and he could mention it in the house.
(When they are not on holiday)
After 13years of Labour”sorry New Labour” do-gooding for societies wasters and wrecking our country,
I hoped this lot would do better by
honest hard working people.
Looks like the best way to a secure and comfortable old age is to go on
the rob and murder an honest working man in the process.
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Sparky
Gosh…you know what …I think you are right. I had never thought of it that way before but now it is all so obvious. Clearly there is NO other alternative but to go out and rob and murder an honest working man.
That’s it – you’ve convinced me.
I’ll get me tools…
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pickaxe,
I have certainly not suggested that you murder or rob anyone.
Think maybe you’re missing my point,
Re read my original post and possibly research the crime in which Biggs was involved(it took place in 1963)
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Ah…oops.
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pickaxe,
Absolutely
nice talking with you.
May i wish Mr Venables all the best
and hope someone take note,after all this country offers enough help
to its wasters.
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The government won. The NHS saves money by not having to pay for the operation or the after care. Then the government can take the corporation tax from the profits that the private clinic make. This then allows the government to pay for job dodgers to watch sky sports, drink lots of beer and have large disposable incomes to spend in betting shops*.
*I understand that not all job seekers/dodgers visit betting shops, some also play poker or bingo online.
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Keep your medals Bill You earned them when our sad ,misguided, tired old country was great. Something will turn up, old chap. Hold your fire and best wishes. Enoch Pray
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We thank you and all the other service people who made this country free. But alas the government do not care, they would rather give our money to immigrants who have not done anything to help this country. Thank you Bill and the best of luck.
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Utter, racist, rubbish as usual John.
Where is your evidence that any ‘immigrant’ (and by that term you probably mean someone with a different skin colour to you) gets preferential treatment?
There is no large waiting list for cataract operations in Shropshire (though with the cuts to the NHS that may well change!).
I know, because I have a relative who had both eyes done on the NHS (on separate occasions, as is usually the case) only a few months ago. Amongst those having the operation in the same outpatients clinic in Telford were numerous elderly folk, some over 90, and by the way, none of them ‘immigrants’.
It sounds like this gentleman has been the victim of some administrative cock-up – either that or his condition is more complicated than just cataracts, perhaps requiring more complex surgery.
Rather than indulging in knee-jerk publicity stunts, he would have been better chasing his GP and the relevant hospital departments to see where the hold-up had occurred – I’m sure that he, or perhaps a helpful relative, could have sorted it out.
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Peter, You know that I am right. Who pays for the food, housing, electric. gas, etc and health care for the people in the immigrant holding centres? “WE DO” Why do you play the race card when people don’t agree with you. Please travel or read books to open up your mind to the real world,perhaps you can start with the biography of a great scholar Enoch Powell.What I wrote was from the heart to one of the great old people that saved our country from the Nazis and was not racist in any way.If I had my way all (now) old veterns should jump the queue for heath care, also free housing, rates, gas, electric,and anything else the want, as I belive they deserve It.Including the Ghurkas.
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Sorry should be “Veterans”
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/Godwin’s law invoked
/rational debate over
/predicable outcome achieved
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John,
I know that facts are alien to you, but you really need to be made aware that illegal immigrants have little or no access to the NHS, save for emergency treatment.
For those that are imprisoned awaiting deportation, health care is provided to some extent – that’s what decent people do.
Your original post claimed that immigrants take priority over veterans – they don’t, and you have provided not a shred of evidence to support that view. This is the sort of bigoted tripe that parties like the BNP constantly spout to demonise communities based upon their skin colour or religion.
I’m probably a good deal better read than you are – if you had read and absorbed a little more, you would have realised by now that what our forbears fought against in fighting the Nazis was exactly the sort of racism (against Jews) that we now see the BNP practising against Muslims.
And don’t forget, the current leader of the BNP was convicted of anti-Semitism – and has never apologised, despite numerous opportunities to do so.
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Peter, Question!! Who pays for the Immigrants legal bills and appeals when they are refused entry into the UK that amount to millions of pounds in legal aid. I wonder if we went to their countries their governments would do the same.I refer to your last two paragraphs, where have the B.N.P. anywhere said gas the Muslims? When you get a bee in your bonnet just sit down and relax a little, then you wont write such rubbish, Once again I shall be going to Israel to continue my holocaust studies,in March 2012, why don’t you come along you will be quite welcome.
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Hmmm John – what a dilemma you must have faced. It must be SO irritating when a news story doesn’t mention people you are prejudiced against. How the hell are you meant to spout off about the bloomin’ immigrants?
Tricksy….very tricksy…but with a flash of pure brilliance you have come up with a masterstroke – just shoehorn an irrelevant comment in there anyway!
Well done sir.
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pickaxe. Thank you for your words,”a flash of pure brilliance” but my last sentence is true, as mentioned many times before, I have traveled many times to Poland. Israel,and the U.S.A to further my holocaust studies over the years, and in that time I have met holocaust survivors. There is one country that I will never go to and that is Germany.
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I totally understand John. Personally I happen to study pyramids – and the one country I simply will NOT go is Egypt.
Love, pickaxe.
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disgusting. no other word for it. No-one should wait 9 months for surgery – regardless how big or small it is. NHS is going down the pan rapidly. the stupid thing is, is that the surgeons at the nuffield operate at PRH and RSH, but they get paid ALOT more for private surgery, so thats why the hurry to do it. makes me angry – and i work for the NHS – its embarrasing! I hope the gentleman gets his surgery on NHS sooner rather than later – if he kicks up a fuss – they’ll do it. they always do. If he looses his site, it will cost the NHS alot more in the long run – because both he and his wife will need carers.
Best of luck Bill.
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Hip replacements, cataract surgery and tonsil removal are among operations now being rationed in a bid to save the NHS money.
Two-thirds of health trusts in England are rationing treatments for “non-urgent” conditions as part of the drive to reduce costs in the NHS by £20bn over the next four years. One in three primary-care trusts (PCTs) has expanded the list of procedures it will restrict funding to in the past 12 months.
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I wish we could all get treatment when and where we want it alas with the growth in the ageing population, we cannot all be at the front of the queue.
Whether the man served his country or not is quite irrelevant, I just wish people would stop running to the papers everytime they think they have been hard done by.
Regardless of which I wish him well.
Stokey
(who has also served his country for over 20yrs but won’t make a song or dance about it)
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Now,
Here’s an IDEA:
No-one at the age of 86 should be waiting for a relatively simple operation such as cataract removal.
And if it were that simple to sort the matter out- as some earlier posts suggested – like taking up the matter with his GP – then WHY did hhe have to resort to spending £5000 of his own money to get the treatment done privately?
It is completely wrong that Bill has had to do this – whether he was a war verteran or NOT
SO – Here’s the idea….
FOR some REAL publicity Shrosphire Star,
Start a fund to re-imburse him of his £5000, and any surplus – put into a suitable charity that deals with issues of this nature.
THEN – all of us that feel strongly enough to put replies in this column, and many others i suspect – can make a contribution.
How about that Shropshire Star?
now that would give some real publicity!!!
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Count me in.
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My Dad is 86 this year and he is waiting for a similar operation and he does chase up his GP to no avail! the NHS has given up on the old full stop.
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1.Without the raft of people going to the Shropshire Star with their grumbles, they’d have nothing to print.
2. The fund would be bankrupt within a week.
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