300 children from Gaza to be brought to the UK for free specialist NHS care

[Fragmentedbrain]

According to the Sunday Times. That's nearly as many beds as there are in Great Ormond Street, where the average waiting time for paediatric surgery is 15 weeks (which is fairly typical nationwide).

Why is it mysteriously possible for government to deliver these showy, headline-grabbing measures (I know we already knew it could happen from COVID policy) but not to just make systems work well in an ordinary way?

No. The system has been underfunded and applications aren’t being processed efficiently. Why is no one pushing for that!!!

Evidences please?

Are those charities escorting them back then too?

People have always been cruel. The same arguments you see here today were being made by the opponents to Kindertransport nearly 100 years ago.

True but I like to think we might have learnt something from that period of history.

Disagree. Our standard of care is much better. Many of the wealthy Arabs all come to the UK for specialist treatment. The private wings in the London hospital I had major surgery in all had duplicated signs/advice in English and Arabic to account for this.

Go look it up. Your willful ignorance of how things work is not my problem to solve. Its yours.

Hamas couldn't exist on the most overcrowded area on Earth if local population, Gazans, didn't support it.

The same as Putin wouldn't be in power for 25 years if majority of Russians didn't support him.

We have supported it. We are complicit.

Neither of those groups have free elections. Maybe look at the last time there was an election in Gaza and the average age of people living there. A large number have never been asked.
You also might like to look at what happens to people who vocally disagree with Putin.

No evidences then.

Though so

I'm not sure they'll be transferring poor dc with gun shot wounds, the flight will be what, 8hrs? I'm guessing they'd be treated immediately more locally and the UK will probably help those with chronic conditions. Probably similar to dc on waiting lists in this country.

No, it will be the aftermath and important reconstructive work. Not chronic. They can only patch up in Gaza. Their health care is little more than field hospitals by this point.
Just as we treated Mala for injuries that had already been ‘patched up’.

That was on our doorstep of course we were right to host dc so close to home. The Middle East if full of well funded palatial hospitals many staffed by highly experienced staff. They should take all those needing hospital treatment, less traumatic for the patients too instead of being shipped half a world away.

I bloody hope their parents are coming with them, assuming they still have parents. Imagine being starved almost to death and shot at and then taken half way across the world without your mam.

Jesus wept.

I know this about their elections very well.

But when Ukrainian elections were attempted to be manipulated Ukrainians were on the streets with Orange revolution.

Who should've asked Gazans? why they didn't do anything if they don't support Hamas? or hang on, maybe they do?

Russians overwhelmingly support Putin, there is some very tiny minority who are against him, but it's minority.

It's just very comfortable and convenient for the West to believe in innocent people who are victims of their rulers because otherwise we have to accept that majority of these people do support their regime and it's unclear what to do with this reality.

ETA: yes, I do know very well what happens to people who vocally disagree with Putin. This is because only a few hundred thousands, maybe a couple of millions disagree. Imagine if 20-30m out of 140m populations went on the streets? the problem is there aren't such numbers of disagreeing. Or not even on the streets, just didn't vote for him in 2024? for any other candidate, just not Putin. One million wouldn't make a difference, but if it was at least half of population it would've been impossible to manipulate such number of votes. So uncomfortable truth is they do support Putin. The same as Gazans do support Hamas.

Gaza hasn’t had elections since 2006.

It's shocking. I'm so glad these children are getting the help they deserve and desperately need.

You say it like this issue is so black and and white. Like hamas have done no wrong at all and wouldn't be happily commiting genocide if the shoe were on the other foot (from the river to the sea?) You talk like the UK is out there on the ground killing gazans (assisting genocide) instead of trying to intervene in a very complex and unwinnable geopolitical situation like most other western countries.I support neither gaza nor Israel in general, but if absolutely pushed I would choose the Israelis as at least they are democratic and support womens and lgbt rights as a society. However I don't agree with Israeli expansionism and both sides are as rabid as each other at their extremes.Both sides have grievances stretching back to biblical times and both sides think they have god on their side.It is not a straightforward victim/aggressor situation. So no the UK has not supported nor assisted in genocide.

The majority of Russians don't support him, there is no political opposition (he has killed them), it's an authoritarian state filled with propaganda right down to the schools they go to. They don't have access to freedom of speech or other ideas, so they are trapped and often believe things which aren't true through no fault of their own. The reason Putin is still in charge is because he's a dictator, and he's supported by the political elites not by the people. When you've been manipulated and controlled for years, you are suppressed to not revolt, because you know the consequences and also it doesn't occur to you. Have you read Never Let Me go - the main reason they don't escape is because of such propaganda that they don't even know they can. Yes when dictators initially start to take power people revolt (because it's a shock and it's differrent) but you'd be surprised at how easy it is to supress people look at the USSR, many people still were religious in their minds but it doesn't mean churches were destroyed. Plus they have no choice, no money and very little means of escape.

Plus the elections are rigged, they don't have anyone else to vote for on the ballot. And history should teach you that even when millions revolt they can be suppressed through terror and being killed. So even with protest very little would change.

It is.

There has been a real shift on MN in recent weeks with an influx of deeply racist posters. The shift does not reflect general attitudes in real life, I don't think. I hope.

And their families and need to be housed during treatment …. M certain entire families are coming will claim asylum and never leave.

Just wondering how many mid east neighbors are doing the same … Qatar, Saudi, Dubai? Etc

Why is there an obsession in UK with fixing the problems of others and ignoring your own.

It’s like the obesssion with rescuing dogs from third world while UK dogs languish and are put down in UK.

It doesn’t make anyone, or any country more virtuous. feeding the sad neighbors kid while yours go hungry …. Some kid is still hungry. Feeding the sad one is not better outcome. You are not a better person (or country). No one is saying how good you are.

This has been happening for years. Children in conflicts around the world have been treated in Uk and other foreign hospitals funded by a mix of philanthropy, charities, doctors giving their time for free and yes some taxes would also be going towards their treatment. Several were being treated on the GOSH private wing when I was a student there over 20 years ago

Every nation gets the government it deserves.

'Just wondering how many mid east neighbors are doing the same … Qatar, Saudi, Dubai? Etc'

Apparently they're all taking 5000 between them. The point is they have the funds and capacity to also take 300 who are being sent here.

It will be deeply unsettling for sick dc to be in country 8hrs flight away from loved ones, keep them local and their lives won't be quite as disrupted.

If there's capacity for treatment in this country with either nhs or private providers then our citizens should be the priority.

I'd rather they spent the money on providing free seizure alarms on the NHS so I didn't walk in to my son's bedroom and find him dead on the floor.