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The Parable of the Good Samaritan and Privatised Health Care


Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half-dead.... a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

Luke 10:30, 33-35 (ANIV)


Its a good job that the Samaritan didn't have to cope with privatised health provision or 2 silver coins wouldn't have been enough.

According to the Sunday Times last weekend, German driver Resul Mor was flagged down by a man who asked him to take his desperately ill wife to hospital in Hamburg. On arrival hospital staff asked Herr Mor to sign a registration form, but unknown to him he was committing himself to pay any outstanding fees on the woman's treatment. Last week judges rules that despite not knowing the woman, Mor was leagally liable and therefore must pay the £6,500 bill. Ouch!

NHS anyone?

ps. Following on from yesterday's comment a FB friend pointed me to John Bell's comment on BBC radio 4's Thought for the Day, which you can hear here with John's incomparable Scottish accent in all its glory, or, for those who can't make out a word he says, you can read it here. In whatever accent he says it so much better than I can.

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