On the very day that folk start going on about the divergence in the NHS, something comes along that perfectly illustrates it.

Apparently, the establishment of national parliaments in Wales, Scotland and Norn Iron has – shockingly – resulted in the health services within those countries behaving differently. Here, for example, there’s apparently a greater integration between the Health and Social Services roles. Largely, I expect, because they’re all actually the same organisations, but I digress…

In Scotland, allegedly, they’re doing things slightly differently. By pooling resources and targeting them at specific problems. Like, I dunno, a shortage of car batteries, which can only be made better for the glorious people by make big good battery factory.

Or, as is termed by someone within NHS management as the “collectivist model”. Which raises whole ranks of warning flags straight away. Collectivist, in a nationalised health service? That’s like concentrated scariness…

And to prove the point, along come a bevvy of helpful MSPs, who are all about extending the collectivist model over the individual bodies of the people.

Scotland needs to move to an “opt-out” system for organ donation as soon as possible to save lives which are being lost every year, a Labour MSP has said.

Lothians MSP George Foulkes has called on people to sign up to the organ donor register and back his calls for a move to presumed consent by the end of 2008.

And there was a great disturbance in the Force, as though a thousand livers were cut out in agony, then suddenly silenced…

For the official IDQCT… opinion on opt-out donation, please to peruse these posts. And can someone tell me why making the whole system into Alder Hey is even an option?