TY - JOUR T1 - LEtter from abroad AU - BARRIE H Y1 - 1979/05/01 N1 - 10.1001/archpedi.1979.02130050104030 JO - American Journal of Diseases of Children SP - 560 EP - 560 VL - 133 IS - 5 N2 - NOBMs  As some day it may happen that a victim must be found, I've got a little listOf society offenders who might well be underground And who never would be missed!W. S. GILBERTLondon.–Gilbert certainly had something when he wrote this cheery little song for Ko-Ko, Lord High Executioner of Titipu. Had he lived to see the National Health Service (NHS), posterity might have been the richer by several more immortal verses. Every now and then politicians brag unguardedly how our NHS is the envy of the world, sending hollow laughs echoing round the country and even raising a few wry smiles in countries like Sweden and Switzerland. It leaves much to be desired and its ever-increasing flaws are more than a passing embarrassment. In one of our postnatal wards, an anonymous wag has put up a poster that sums up the situation perfectly. "I was unhappy SN - 0002-922X M3 - doi: 10.1001/archpedi.1979.02130050104030 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.1979.02130050104030 ER -