element. Then came The Crunch, and it
became all Too obvious that the Surveyors
had been hopelessly optimistic in their
Valuations (thus pushing up their fees and no
doubt our Premiums charged), and quite a
number were unable to continue to practise
as they couldn't get professional indemnity
insurance.
To cut a long and painful story short, I had the
task of selling the Company back to those
who had sold it to us for £6.5m, for 1pound. I
stood up to tell my fellow Shareholder cousins
this sorry tale, and to their eternal credit they
roared with laughter and forgave me.
The moral of the story? Don't follow the Herd.
Stick to your core business. Don't do anything
you don't understand and can't do yourself.
More disasters to come...
Dr John Sargent
WINCHESTER
VILLAGES
TRUST
The income from this trust is
available to provide assistance for
those in need, where and when
help is not available from public
funds, or to help in emergencies.
To make an enquiry if you live in
Bighton, contact: Gail Johnson,
Chautara, Bighton, SO24 9RB. Tel.
01962 736556
Or if you live in Old Alresford,
contact:
Sue Alexander, The Hyde, Old
Alresford, SO24 9DH. Tel. 732043
I’M A MUTANT,
GET ME OUT OF
HERE!
Last week I read in the national press that
the National Institute for Clinical Excellence
recommended a nursing ratio of one nurse
to eight patients. However, I also read that
at a recent nursing conference delegates
were told that if a nurse had more than eight
patients in their care, then the risk of harm
to those patients was significantly
increased. Well, based on recent personal
experience, I would say that even a ratio of
one nurse to six patients is a potential risk!
But, first let me explain why.
I suffer from a rare condition called
Dercum’s Disease. At least that’s what I was
told, by a consultant surgeon some years
ago; after which he said, and I quote,
“basically, you’re a genetic mutant”. Well,
I’m certainly not one of the X-Men and I
have no super-powers. My mutation is
characterized by multiple, painful fatty
lipomas (benign, fatty tumours). The
condition is 20 times more common in postmenopausal, obese women of middle age,
but 16 percent of reported cases are males
and it can also occur in people who are not
obese. My grandfather and father suffered
from the same condition, so it is obviously
inherited, and since I was about 35 I’ve had
several visits to hospital to have the more
troublesome lipomas surgically removed,
since there is no effective treatment or cure
other than surgical excision. The procedure
has been performed under the NHS several
times and once privately. Therefore, I have
gained some form of comparison over the
past 30 years of the NHS and private health
care systems.
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