I know it won’t, and it fecking sickens me. I’m having none of the bollocks from people saying this government is doing a good job during this pandemic. They are doing what needs to be done at a time of crisis, but things have probably been made harder because we we’re starting from a lower base after all the cuts.
Rebuilding the NHS
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I know it won’t, and it fecking sickens me. I’m having none of the bollocks from people saying this government is doing a good job during this pandemic. They are doing what needs to be done at a time of crisis, but things have probably been made harder because we we’re starting from a lower base after all the cuts.
How about everyone should get it for free and we just fund it better?
We contribute more from our paychecks but the govt close out the loop holes that let the likes of Richard Branson, Phillip Green and co not pay any taxes in this country but let's them take taxpayers funding when their businesses need 'help' paying employees.
Compared to others it really isn't that bad.
imagine being in the middle of a global pandemic in which the major problems are a lack of supplies and significant mortality rates for people with preexisting conditions and thinking "you know what'll work? more rationing"
Am all for more government funding and keeping it free to use, it’s just a suggestion to stop it getting privatised, I don’t see conservatives funding it any more though
Corporate tax take is going to be all over the place this year, with a recession looming, furloughing etc...Tbh, no-one can agree on where the so-called sweet spot of corporation tax is, so arguments on either side have their flaws.
We need to do something significant about the costs of supply nurses and doctors.
I've got a mate who works in doing just that... Nurse phones in sick from xyz hospital, hospital call him for cover, he sends a qualified nurse. This is great till you find out the cost to the hospital.
In teacher a supply teacher will 'only' cost approx £200 per day with the teacher taking home about £120 of that.
So I'm not sure why nurses should cost over 5 times that, but they do. It's a huge drain on funds.
I've got a mate who works in doing just that... Nurse phones in sick from xyz hospital, hospital call him for cover, he sends a qualified nurse. This is great till you find out the cost to the hospital.
In teacher a supply teacher will 'only' cost approx £200 per day with the teacher taking home about £120 of that.
So I'm not sure why nurses should cost over 5 times that, but they do. It's a huge drain on funds.
They could go after the 80-90bn lost to the tax man every year starting with likes of Amazon and Starbucks. That would be a start. They won't though and it will continue to struggle to survive.
It may be that national insurance contributions needs looking at. Wonder how much of the pot is pissed away through benefit fraud or over generosity in many cases.
Because nurses and doctors on wards have a ridiculously difficult job
We are constantly working in overstretched conditions, looking after patients well over the number we should be
On ward a nurse can look after up to 20 patients at a time now if not more, there are severe risks in their jobs now. Which is why locums cost so much.
In the event of a staff absence it is absoluely chaotic
Reinstate the nursing bursery, subsidize doctors through their junior doctor years (where there is significant financial burden, maybe through paying for our exams or royal college fees) thereby increasing recruitment and retention and avoiding need for locums.
Having a well resourced NHS isn't a drain on funds, an increase in primary prevention, screening, urgent care centres will yield substantial returns. But we need to start putting medical personnel incharge more often. People at CCGs, DOH and even health secretary level have to people with front line experience of working in the NHS. It needs bold long term thinking with risk taking with regards to finances. But we won't do that.
This thread full of the usual contributions from those who sit and wait ready to jump down on someone who tries to make a suggestion whilst offering nothing to the debate themselves.
It's quite obvious the healthcare system in the UK needs reform of sorts and much better protection from those who abuse it and sap precious resources. How that's implemented is the difficult part but simply trying to carry on regardless is idiotic.
It's quite obvious the healthcare system in the UK needs reform of sorts and much better protection from those who abuse it and sap precious resources. How that's implemented is the difficult part but simply trying to carry on regardless is idiotic.
Yeah but it obviously depends massively on an individual's circumstances- sweeping statements not helpful.
Rubbish, frankly. Some people jumped down the throat of @Deery because some of his posts ranged from incoherent to inconsiderate to downright tosh. I picked apart some of that reasoning and also offered suggestions elsewhere in the thread.
I agree that healthcare needs reform. By that, it must be adequately resourced, which hasn’t been the case for a very long time. Suggesting that we charge a tenner to the poorest in society is a dogshit idea that has been quite rightly picked apart for the nonsense it is.
No doubt it’s a tough balancing act but I’m not sure this Government’s motives are the betterment of society.
agency nursing is a huge problem - but it’s because there is not enough supply in the first instance.
in some cases it is valid, if a nurse is required at short notice, has particular skills that are in short supply and needs to travel them the premium is justified. However the NHS have their own agency in NHS Professionals, but individual trusts are not required to use them and will often use other agencies - should just legislate against this and stop the commercial agencies. It would solve a small part of the puzzle.
In Ireland the charge for a&e is €100
An ambulance call out? €100
GP appointment? €50
Pay for your prescriptions
unless you have a medical card. Then it’s free
An ambulance call out? €100
GP appointment? €50
Pay for your prescriptions
unless you have a medical card. Then it’s free
deery me
Agree with you here. Although before charging the taxpayer, there's plenty of other government departments that could be cut and then the money saved be used on the NHS instead. Firstly there's a lot of red tape that comes natural with government but departments like the police have clearly been useless during this crisis, using tax payer money to sit in their cars all day recording people in parks so they can upload it later to twitter seems like a rather bad use of resources imo. Plus the spike in knife crime again shows the inability of a bloated police force. A good trimming down to get rid of officers who abuse the system or are simply not up to the job would be a good place to start.
But anyways that's just one idea. People are always ready to hurt the everyday man on the street first before looking at government waste and incompetence.
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And how many people are falling through the system?
This works fine if you can guarantee that everyone is covered. But the shambles the Tories have made of universal credit and the way they've neglected the most vulnerable in our society, shows it wouldn't work in this country. If they were capable of doing this, they would've proved it with homelessness in the first place (which they've made worse).
Secondly, how much do these charges outweigh the cost-benefit of preventative medicine? If people are only seeing their doctors when they're sick enough to pay 50 euros, how much is the system having to pick up in the cost of the extra care they will need?
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And I remember the countless times my nan wouldn't book a GP appointment until she felt really sick because she didn't want to waste money. My home country is indeed a very stupid place when it comes to healthcare.
The economy is going to be decimated after we're done with this (and any future) lockdown. We're not going to be in any position to invest in public services for a little while yet.
The lack of insight is astounding but very amusing all the same.
I didn't say I agreed with him, I simply believe people need to be less aggressive and put forward their own suggestions rather than jumping on the bandwagon of kicking him to the ground.
This shows a stunning lack of understanding of what life is actually like for many people around the UK on the breadline. £2 a week could be somebody having to go without a meal for them and their family.
And in some cases, if you have a medical card, everything's probably f*cking free in ireland, including your house.
Meanwhile the rest of us slave away.
But alas, where was I.. oh yeah.. feck the HSE.
As I said I would prefer it to be absolutely free to everyone but the OP was ways to help the NHS from breaking point and it was only a suggestion.
I don’t think it’s that crazy of a suggestion as what some posters are making out either.
Why don't you just get a medical card then ? It both sounds brilliant and easy to get.
It seems like you're missing out on a great deal.
That has nothing to do with what I said.
The NHS is such a sacred cow in the UK that no-one will really debate any alternatives, such as the kind of public/private system they use in Germany. They insist it should be paid for out of taxes (or NI) and nothing else. Mention insurance and people assume you want a US system, rather than the kind of system we see in mainland Europe.
Okay, fine, but people also won't accept significant increases in taxes/NI in the UK, because there's still a sense that low taxes = good, high taxes = bad. Even Labour under Corbyn didn't challenge this, surprisingly, instead whipping up the fantasy that you can simply tax the top 5% and pay for it that way. This was always just a way of avoiding the real issue, which is that increased spending requires us all to put more in the pot.
We need to pay more to improve the NHS. That can be through taxation or insurance. Too many people don't want to do either.
Okay, fine, but people also won't accept significant increases in taxes/NI in the UK, because there's still a sense that low taxes = good, high taxes = bad. Even Labour under Corbyn didn't challenge this, surprisingly, instead whipping up the fantasy that you can simply tax the top 5% and pay for it that way. This was always just a way of avoiding the real issue, which is that increased spending requires us all to put more in the pot.
We need to pay more to improve the NHS. That can be through taxation or insurance. Too many people don't want to do either.
I'm just interested in why you don't get a medical card if everything probably free including a house!
Seems a bit silly to slave away when there's a great government deal right in front of you ?
I didn't say that, I said for some people. A small few who exploit the system.
Re. the medical card itself - I simply think it's insane that someone even slightly above the threshold for it has to pay the same price for health services as someone on a six figure salary.
I have a medical card but still have to pay our mortgage. It’s not that simple.
A lot of schemes though do irritate me. Like unemployed people used to be able to avail of free childcare. Why? They’re sitting on their asses most days. Or at least the ones round here. I used to bust my ass in my last job and had to pay loads.
In regards to healthcare yeah I agree that some people would rather not go to doctors rather than pay so there has to be a middle ground.
I know, that's why I said some!
My main issue with the medical card is that it's all or nothing. I'll never understand why they won't implement a tiered approach instead based on incomes and such.
And yeah the free childcare and such is nuts, but we're a welfare state and people will often exploit that, I guess. Still, in times like this, it's good to be a welfare state.
Wealth tax. This country will only degrade whilst the split between rich and poor increases.
The shambles of this corona virus has got me seriously thinking about migrating to Pakistan. If i could make what i make here - whilst living there, i could live like a king.
The shambles of this corona virus has got me seriously thinking about migrating to Pakistan. If i could make what i make here - whilst living there, i could live like a king.
“Ladies and gentlemen we got him”
Ha ha I knew you were baiting hence I didn't bother with a more detailed response. Lockdown is boring for the majority though - I get that. So whatever keeps you going!
I'm sure my dentist works like that. I pay but many don't and it's never bothered me.
All NHS sourcing and procurement is a problem.
Nurses obviously cost more because they are far more specialised and highly trained than supply teachers, but it goes beyond that.
The NHS has supplier lists in place that ensure it pays 2 to 3 times more than the going rate for pretty much everything. That's reason number 1 why we dont have larger stockpiles of PPE.
Yep but this is how it works out, everyone knows the areas where the NHS is being battered on but when solutions are offered they get batted away, by people within the NHS even.
Take for example the taboo area of alcoholics/drunks.
I know a few years back they were talking about implementing a charge for drunks who take up a bed/resources but NHS said it wasn’t manageable for a variety of reasons. People within the NHS were giving all sorts of reasons why it wouldn’t work. But you can’t just continue to let the problem fester and do nothing. It’s great to have a free health service and I’m not advocating for anything else but there has to come a point where the misuse and abuse of the system is tackled. We need to stop being so “British” about it.
I’m not saying charge anyone that turns up to a and e drunk and incapable or needing their stomach pumped but consider at least taking it case by case.
In the same way something as simple as prescriptions are managed (working people pay, non working/disabled don’t)
Do the same for the alcohol problem. Quite clearly charging someone homeless suffering from mental health who has alcohol related issues isn’t workable and is immoral. But what about your average joe, working, earning a living who goes out on a Friday and stupidly consumes too much alcohol and ends up needing his stomach pumped. Send him a bill in the post a few weeks later. This would immediately act as a deterrent. There has to be some sort of accountability.
The thing is the general public would 100% support this.