Judgment of Solomon

Story on the news recently of a patient who has been told by their Local Area Health Authority that they cannot have potential life-prolonging treatment on cost-benefit grounds. Please God I am never put in the position of having to make such a decision, but the way in which the Authority have been presented as heartless bean-counters is, I feel, rather unfair. The question they face is not - do we spend this money on this patient or not, but - do we spend this money on this patient or do we spend it on other patients? In other words, spending this money on this patient may benefit them, but may result in others not receiving treatment they need. Like I say, I do not envy those faced with such a choice, but I think they deserve our understanding rather than a knee-jerk reaction.