NHS

[discobob]

1 hour ago, Vince Green said:

Yes but nurses and doctors can earn a lot of money if they know how to work the system. The hospitals are constantly so short of staff that the are forced to offer big bribes to get shifts covered. Now nobody volunteers for overtime until there is a bonus payment being offered.

Its a tough job though, staff shortages also means corners have to be cut and nurses are having to routinely make decisions that should be made by a doctor, but a doctor is not available 

I was emphasising somewhere where it is really bad - minimum wage mostly - Care work - some of the things my wife has done makes me shudder

[Vince Green]

1 hour ago, discobob said:

I was emphasising somewhere where it is really bad - minimum wage mostly - Care work - some of the things my wife has done makes me shudder

I agree there is such a contrast and I know exactly what you mean

[Westward]

If everyone in this country considered the 5 basic tenets of a reasonably healthy lifestyle (which everyone knows), the NHS would be about 20% of it's it's present size, there'd be no waiting lists and we'd have enough money in the kitty to fix things like our 3rd world roads.

The NHS doesn't need ever increasing amounts of money, it needs the public to understand that most heart disease, virtually all type 2 diabetes cases, many auto immune conditions and at least half of all cancers are the result of poor lifestyle choices and are therefore avoidable.

[Scully]

29 minutes ago, Westward said:

If everyone in this country considered the 5 basic tenets of a reasonably healthy lifestyle (which everyone knows), the NHS would be about 20% of it's it's present size, there'd be no waiting lists and we'd have enough money in the kitty to fix things like our 3rd world roads.

The NHS doesn't need ever increasing amounts of money, it needs the public to understand that most heart disease, virtually all type 2 diabetes cases, many auto immune conditions and at least half of all cancers are the result of poor lifestyle choices and are therefore avoidable.

I have no idea how true any of that is, but that’s where your education comes in.
We learned all about the ‘known’ risks of various practices in school, and the rest is up to us. That’s all you can do, and all that should be done. 

[oowee]

54 minutes ago, Westward said:

If everyone in this country considered the 5 basic tenets of a reasonably healthy lifestyle (which everyone knows), the NHS would be about 20% of it's it's present size, there'd be no waiting lists and we'd have enough money in the kitty to fix things like our 3rd world roads.

The NHS doesn't need ever increasing amounts of money, it needs the public to understand that most heart disease, virtually all type 2 diabetes cases, many auto immune conditions and at least half of all cancers are the result of poor lifestyle choices and are therefore avoidable.

I don't question the numbers but the maths is not so simple. Take smoking. 80% of a packet is tax. The largest uk company pays £3bn in tax. Its customers are far less likely to draw a pension than non customers. 

Our national balance sheet relies on more paying in than drawing out. 

Let people have the unhealthy life style but limiting draw down to a per capita head might be an alternative route. 

Another must be allowing those that want to opt out of prolonged and degrading treatment an alternative. 

[Westward]

20 hours ago, Scully said:

I have no idea how true any of that is, but that’s where your education comes in.
We learned all about the ‘known’ risks of various practices in school, and the rest is up to us. That’s all you can do, and all that should be done. 

I'm not a conspiracy theorist but I've come to understand that organisations like the big pharmaceutical companies operate with business models that are often compromising public health rather enhancing it. As a retired businessman I understand the drive for profitability, but it's wrong to prioritise the bottom line and the share price ahead of offering the best outcome for the patient. And the NHS, especially the GP practices, are acting as enablers by following prescription mantras - which are usually defined by the pharma companies  - rather than treating individual patients as...   Individuals.

[Newbie to this]

No to mention that the NHS runs TV and radio adverts (at god knows what cost), telling people not to take antibiotics unless absolutely necessary, all while conveniently forgetting that antibiotics are prescription only.

You couldn't make this stuff up 

[Lloyd90]

8 hours ago, Newbie to this said:

No to mention that the NHS runs TV and radio adverts (at god knows what cost), telling people not to take antibiotics unless absolutely necessary, all while conveniently forgetting that antibiotics are prescription only.

You couldn't make this stuff up 

My friend is a GP, an old friend of school. 
 

He works in South Wales, and often complains about the patients. 
 

He said he has loads who come in pleading illnesses and asking for sick notes and medications like diazepams etc. 

 

He said there are a massive proportion of fakers and moaners. 
 

Several of our friendship group challenged why he then gives them the notes and prescriptions. 
 

He said “I’m not the DWP!”. 
 

 

Basically the scale of the problem is so enormous it’s not worth the bother, as it would be a massive battle with a huge amount of people they see regularly. 
 

It seems the attitude is shared by every GP at his practice. 
 

It’s not their job to weed out the wasters so they see it. 
 

I imagine it’s a similar problem for those people who turn up demanding (not asking for) antibiotics etc. 

GPS are known to get abused when they tell patients they don’t need a magic pill but need to take responsibility for their own health. 
 

Just look at when GP’s tell people they’re too fat, it’s often on TV, the patient proclaims they don’t over eat, they hardly eat anything and they’ve just magically ballooned to the enormous size they often are!