Health Care BS

Why do I have the feeling that this story from The Telegraph would have received much more play in the establishment media had the medical students in question been Christian fundamentalists?

Muslim medical students are refusing to obey hygiene rules brought in to stop the spread of deadly superbugs, because they say it is against their religion.

It would appear that patient safety must be compromised in order to accomodate Medieval notions of female modesty:

Women training in several hospitals in England have raised objections to removing their arm coverings in theatre and to rolling up their sleeves when washing their hands, because it is regarded as immodest in Islam.

And the requirement that medical personnel roll up their sleeves when scrubbing is no mere quibble:

Dr Mark Enright, professor of microbiology at Imperial College London, said: ‘To wash your hands properly, and reduce the risks of MRSA and C.difficile, you have to be able to wash the whole area around the wrist.’

Nonetheless, similar objections are known to have been raised by Muslim medical students at Alder Hey children’s hospital in Liverpool, Leicester University, Sheffield University, and Birmingham University.

And don’t look to the Islamic Medical Association to raise the voice of reason against this insanity. It is more concerned with the renets of Islam than with patient safety:

‘No practising Muslim woman - doctor, medical student, nurse or patient - should be forced to bare her arms below the elbow,’ it said.

But not to worry. I’m sure the apparatchiks of the NHS will jump on this problem with their usual alacrity. I’m sure they’ll appoint a committee to study the situation and, after deliberating for a decade or so, issue a culturally sensitive opinion in favor of hygiene.