MAURICE NELIGAN HEARTBEATThe East may have a lot to teach us - from health, to infinity, and beyond
I AM writing this on April Fools' Day, which seems appropriate. Salutations to my fellow fools, especially those who feel there is a reasonable explanation for the convoluted nonsense that is being fed to us.
A special greeting to those who feel that, even if there is no such explanation, sure it doesn't matter anyway. Salutations indeed, you are the cornerstone of Irish democracy.
A further salutation to those who think the health system is getting better. Is it any wonder they call it Fools' Day?
I've been away, in the Far East and India. It's difficult to avoid all knowledge of what's happening at home in this world of electronic communication, even if you positively don't want to know.
"Things are sliding a little in Ireland, are they?" "What became of the Celtic Tiger?" I had mistakenly believed that few in the group with which I was travelling would have much of an idea of the current situation in our little green paradise. I met many nationalities, all of whom had an inkling that things were no longer as they used to be for us entrepreneurial Celts at the height of our delusions.
Disquietingly, some had experience of working or doing business in Ireland. They voiced reservations about the high cost of locating here. The major problems are well known to us: high labour costs, very limited broadband access, restricted transport infrastructure and relatively poor connectivity.
None of these people were being gratuitously negative, but simply voicing concern. After all, who wants to upset a Paddy in the shadow of the national day? They freely admitted that their countries and economies had problems of their own.
The group fell to talking of these problems, I think, because our geographical locations made it inevitable. The Highest Authority and I, protected by low-dose aspirin, had flown to Shanghai and had several days there before meeting the rest of the group.
It was 20 years since we had last been there; we could hardly believe this was the same city. It is now a bustling modern commercial centre with some truly remarkable architecture.
Courtesy and friendliness abound, and our guides were willing and able to show just about anything we wished to see.
People seemed relatively happy with the medical system, based on an amalgam of traditional and "western" medicine, the latter in particular moving forward apace. This city of 16 million is divided into regions for medical care both at primary and hospital levels.
Tertiary referral centres draw from the network of hospitals. They claim nobody is left without care. Clearly short visits and briefings do not give a complete picture, but the impression conveyed was of organisation and planning.
Smog was a freely admitted problem - despite heavy industry having largely been moved from the environs of the city.
A thought struck me: maybe they could borrow our Health Minister, with her track record for clean air, and we could have theirs to organise our service. I envisage a long-term swap.
The port was huge, busy and thronged with shipping from all over the globe. In the words of Napoleon: "Let China sleep, for when she awakes she will shake the world."
Let there be no mistake; China is very much awake.
Hong Kong appeared to have changed less dramatically, but still had grown impressively. The "one country, two systems" model of government seemed, on the surface, to function just as well as the British Colonial regime had; time will tell.
Next stop was Vietnam, a country I had long aspired to visit, another country moving forward rapidly. I was not disappointed.
Astonishing strides have been made since their recent traumatic past and they evince a great determination to join the world. These countries show vitality and promise - and pose problems for us.
We have too much petty regulation, and too many non-contributors, to compete on many fronts. Let's not delude ourselves - the competition is there and, in many ways, we have been asleep or complacent. Worrying times lie ahead.
Incidentally, one of the group told me that he had aspired to be a cardiac surgeon but found that he couldn't stand the sight of money! There's insight for you!
• Maurice Neligan is a cardiac surgeon