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Hi Sharif – Firstly, fair play for you to come on to the forum and try and defend the piece.

The discussion has perhaps moved on from your original article – but I think it is still on the same theme, essentially a criticism of the high expectations placed upon NHS practitioners by ungrateful patients – or to phrase it another way a judgment of undeserving poor who cannot afford the luxury of private provision (that enables you to keep up your luxury lifestyle).

(The title of your article was ‘give the mouse a cookie’, perhaps a good return piece would be called ‘let them eat cake’)

Yes the article was tongue in cheek, and yes there is a legitimate frustration at the payment system in the NHS. These points are not disputed.

Do the criticisms not apply in private practice though?  Are all private patients grateful? Do all private patients completely understand the payment options, process and guarantee for work done? I have a sneaking suspicion that private patients can be equally as ungrateful (more so perhaps as they are paying more money).  Is it just the amount you earn which changes your definition from being a “difficult” patient to acting with “contempt”?