Please, so that you can get some idea of just how miserably-managed the government health services are in the UK, go to http://dcscience.net/?p=454 and read Prof. David Colquhoun’s account. His “Improbable Science” entries have been railing against stupidity in medical science for years now, and you will see just how ignorant, inept, and recalcitrant these “quangos” are.

(No, I didn’t recognize that word, either, nor did Phil Plait, Jeff Wagg, or anyone else in my office – though Mike Hutchinson, in the UK, did. FYI, a “quango” is a quasi-government agency that operates independently. I’d pictured it as a large lizard with nasty breath, or an aboriginal settlement in New Zealand…)

But go to David’s site and read the rather long account. You’ll see just how tedious and uphill his battle has been, and how valiant his struggle. Our kudos to him…