I have a great deal of respect for the medical profession. I’ve lived, studied, socialised or worked with medical students and then qualified physicians for over 12 years now, and I know how hard they work and how difficult and thorough their training is.

Unfortunately it tends to be the few bad apples that make the news. Consider these two stories from the BBC website:

This poor lad from Wales was completely deaf in one ear for most of his life. He’d seen many a doctor and specialist with no improvement. Then, nine years later, his ear suddenly popped and a waxy old cotton bud slid out. He’s now completely cured.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Wales, a 40-year old woman went to see her GP, concerned about some symptoms that she thought might be related to her mother’s early death from cancer. She was told that she had the classic symptoms of early menopause. On her return home, she informed her husband of the favourable diagnosis, then popped to the loo, where, a few minutes later, a premature but healthy baby girl slid out.

And here’s me telling my Canadian friends that the British health care system is quite good, actually.