Socialized medicine continues to politicize body parts. (See earlier post: Political Body Parts )
Add Mrs. Valerie Halsworth’s seven teeth to the list.
Another contentious issue for British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the upcoming election. From a Sun (U.K.) article, I pulled out my own teeth :
TONY Blair yesterday faced a woman who pulled out SEVEN of her teeth after failing to find an NHS dentist.Great-grandmother Valerie Halsworth, 64, removed them with her husband’s pliers. [/] She pulled out a seventh tooth over the weekend before meeting the PM in Coventry yesterday. [ … ]
Mr Blair told her: “I can’t suddenly just produce more dentists. We have to train them. I can’t force them from the private sector into the NHS.”
Valerie said: “Mr Blair didn’t seem as though he had an answer. [/] “The ten teeth I have got left are OK. But in another month or two I’m going to need a dentist. [/] “It would be nice for somebody to take them out properly for me.”
She added: “The only way to get rid of the pain from my teeth was to pull out the infected ones. [/] “I had a few pints of lager then screwed up my face, put the pliers against the tooth and yanked. [ … /] “My husband can’t stand to watch. But he’s lucky — he had all his teeth pulled out 30 years ago and got a set of false teeth for about a fiver.”
The confrontation came on a live question and answer session with the PM on Sky TV. [/] Mrs Halsworth — who cannot afford private dentistry — said three foreign dentists in her home town all proved unsatisfactory. [/] Last March 3,000 people queued for a new NHS dentist in the town.
