Another milestone in British socialized medicine

Jerome Bartens, an 11-year-old British kid, has been diagnosed since age two by both family doctors and hearing specialists as being incurably deaf in his right ear. While playing pool the other day, Jerome, as if by magic, "was suddenly cured when a thick piece of cotton popped out of his ear".

That's right, the vaunted medical establishment over there never bothered to look in his ear - or if they did, they somehow didn't recognize the wad of cotton, something kids have been sticking in their ears ever since there were wads of cotton to stick in them.

It wasn't just a little wisp of a wad, either:

Any health professional who missed an object that size in a two-year-old's ear has no business retaining a medical license.

Little Jerome's father is predictably upset at the "doctors" who have been examining his son for the past 9 years:

"Mr Bartens, an HGV driver from Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, has now complained to his GP and hearing specialists who examined Jerome over the years."

Complain all you want, Mr. Bartens. It won't do you any good. Where else are you going to take your children, now that government-run health care is the only game in town?