Fuel crisis

One of the burdens faced by the modern NHS is the enormous morbidity associated with obesity. The prevalence of obesity among British adults is now estimated to be 25%, or of the order of 12.5 million individuals. 

Bariatric surgery is now increasingly available as an NHS treatment adding yet more expenditure to an over stretched service, but as yet liposuction can not be obtained and is only available privately. This is a shame as there is a way in which this procedure could in fact generate some money for the NHS, as this enterprising doctor in the USA has shown.

When I read this article I started wondering just how much potential motor fuel is currently being carried on the thighs, bums and bellies of British fatties. What follows is a back of an envelope calculation which is unlikely to be terribly accurate but is probably within the right order of magnitude.

Liposuction typically removes about 3 litres of human fat. My internet research indicates a biodiesel yield from animal fat of up to 90%.

So 3 litres multiplied by 12.5 million comes to 37.5 million litres, which could yield 33.75 million litres of biodiesel. With diesel currently selling at £1.40/l at the pumps that 33.75 million litres has a value of almost 50 million pounds.

So let’s not be so scathing about our pie eating lardbucket population. They could be part of the answer to our energy crisis.

Multi-tasking

In the early days of anaesthesia, before the advent of dedicated anaesthetists, it was common practice for a patient's anaesthetic to be administered by the surgeon's houseman. The houseman acted as a technician, the surgeon telling him how to give the anaesthetic, while at the same time operating. There are still a few old diehard surgeons who still try to do this, even with career anaesthetists.

In dentistry it was common practice until the seventies for a single handed dentist to administer an anaesthetic and then perform the dental work.

This concept of a single handed anaesthetist/operator has now long been consigned to the bin marked "unacceptable practices". However the practice has not been abandoned in the DIY sector.

International day against stoning

Today is international Day against Stoning. I was initially thinking of embedding that stoning clip from "the life of Brian", but then decided that this is actually no laughing matter, bearing in mind that there are people in captivity awaiting this barbaric punishment for doing something we take for granted, freely expressing themselves.

You would think wouldn't you that if some deity were so offended by someone's utterances he would be perfectly capable of delivering his own retribution. But then of course religion is just an excuse for sadistic mysogynists to satisfy their own peculiar lusts.

Politics

This blog is about as apolitical as I can make it. I rarely make any political comments. But you can only bite your lip for so long.

The shambolic excuse for democracy we are lumbered with is a disgrace. Despite the illusion of a democratic process the one thing we know at each election is that we are going to be governed predominantly by public school educated, oxbridge graduates, who are unlikely to have ever held down a real job. Left, middle or right we always end up with these ruling class clones, and in this respect nothing has changed in the UK in 200 years and more.

And as for the upper house, this is nothing less than an affront to the concept of democracy. The appointment of the Lords, without any say by the electorate is nothing short of a gesture of contempt, and disdain towards the voting public.

Successive events have now made it clear that we have a Prime Minister utterly unsuited to his position, and I despair when I look at the alternatives. Most of our politicians are career chasing, image sensitive, self serving empty husks, with an insufferable attitude that they are somehow born to rule.

It could be worse I suppose. When you look at some of the choice of possible future incumbents of the White House you could be forgiven for thinking that the advance of human civilisation is going into reverse.

Britain has tens of thousands of individuals who are honest, hard working, selfless, intelligent, experienced people of integrity. I know some of them personally, so do you.

Why are so few of them in government?

Facebook Fox

Dr Zorro is now on Facebook as Diego Fox. Not quite sure as yet what I am going to do with this account but anyone who wishes to drop by is most welcome.
In fact DZ has been on Facebook for some time as his real self but that identity he is not prepared to divulge.

Right on

Why is it that one of the few publications these days that prints any sense on medical matters is the Daily Mash?

And to know what is really going on you have to turn to news thump.

The last President

Many thanks to Grumble for answering my question in the previous post. The reason I can't find a GMC President is because the title has been changed to that of "Chair of the Council" The incumbent is Peter Rubin. This means that Catto will have been the very last President of the GMC.

The original post was part of a series illustrating how knighthoods are automatically granted to people who acquire certain positions regardless of whether they actually do anything notable in that position. Rubin was knighted less than a year after becoming Chair.