Today

[Johnny Kieran]

On the Trump/Putin side of things, once this minerals deal is signed up with Ukraine, things might look a bit different. I can't imagine Trumpy wanting Putin having half his minerals for nothing (except of course a few hundred thousand war victims). Some people just have different ways of making Loadsamoney, and it's because they're different, it makes them Loadsamoney.

[Ivan Cloherty]

life. Unfortunately it has been underfunded for at least the last 15 years.

Whilst I agree with most of what you say James, the NHS has never been underfunded, it has been obscenely overstaffed in the management areas, where even secretaries have secretaries to deal with paperwork that has no need to be created in the first instance. I have a daughter who is a doctor in a large London hospital it frustrates the hell out of her. Just imagine the waste in Wales where every document and sign inside and outside the hospital building has to be in two languages and can only be processed further after it is translated into Welsh, probably delaying patient treatment or diagnosis but I suppose it keeps painters and sign writers employed

[Johnny Kieran]

The NHS in England is in an awful state, the last people to be considered are the patients. The population has grown hugely, but care is still back in the seventies.
All the talk about building new estates for housing, but never a new hospital or surgery. In the east of London area, the only new medical place are replacements for old ones, or others are not replaced when finished with and turned into housing estates.
I've been into a hospital to see someone, and I needed a translator to ask questions and get answers. Even asking directions to a ward once, I was given a radio thing to get a translation.

[Les Woodard]

James it was in our local paper today that they are offering UK GP positions here in the Hunter valley NSW because of the impending collapse of the NHI. Reason being that majority of doctors gravitate to the City for the big bucks

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Les.
Move down to Cooma mate, we have a great hospital, and three surgeries, the population is around four thousand, although we cover a large area of small villages, we hear the helicopter going overhead some knights to pick someone up, there is as you know a fight on about Dr's charging for visits, here unless you are in Private Health there is no chahge, Govt picks up the bill. The Dr I go to gets young trainee Dr's down for a month at a time to learn the trade and a few have ended up in Cooma.
Des

[Les Woodard]

Thanks for the invite Des but reckon I will stick with my regular doc. Bulk bills as many as he is allowed to. Behind his receptionist are racks of files for patients so everything is on hard copy. Asked him how he is going with the changes and his reply? I am doing well and have no intention of changing. No booking just turn up so keep an eye out on the car park if ever visiting him lol. Besides that mate it is to fecking cold there where you are and that is the main reason I jumped. If I was going to end up unemployed I certainly was not going to end up fecking freezing as well.

[happy daze john in oz]

I have two family members who work in NHS in UK.

My niece is a Deputy Commissioner of Radiography in St Thomas Hospital in Harrow.
She tells me the work is long and hard but said there are no major issues with where she is.

Her husband is Master controller of the MRI division at the London Middlesex hospital, a large teaching hospital in Central London.
He tells me they have to deal with all manner of persons from all over the globe.
Staff do well but the sheer volume of patients puts one hell of a strain on the system..

One of the biggest problems here in Oz is some of the migrant population who come from nations where to see a doctor you go to the hospital.

They turn up at the emergency department just because they have a runny nose or similar, something their GP could trteat.

Some hospitals have got smart, when such persons arrive they are first triaged, if not serious sent to another clinic within the hospital where they are charged $10.
Those hospitals have seen non urgent numbers drop by as much as 70%.

[James Curry]

A major problem with the NHS is they are losing good people such as Consultants to retirement as finacially it is not worth their while to carry on working.
My nephew has retired last year, why not he has a pension pot of £1.3 million. with his pension and if he were to carry on working would put him in the 45% tax bracket, why bother. This is leading to NHS delays as there is now a staff shotage. But for all that the NHS still delivers a reasonably good health care service and no money changes hands for that care and after a certain age prescriptions are free. Not perfect but better than most. One of the best health care systems in Europe is France yes you pay into a mutual fund monthly when you need treatment all costs are covered, and waiting times are short. Example, me new knee see the Surgeon and he looks at the scans and xrays. Okay see you next Friday , job done. Food excellent even at dinner Red Or White wine served.

[James Curry]

James it was in our local paper today that they are offering UK GP positions here in the Hunter valley NSW because of the impending collapse of the NHI. Reason being that majority of doctors gravitate to the City for the big bucks

Not sure of the areas in Australia but they are after UK Police officers as well, you would be more than welcome to the London Met job lot.

[Des Taff Jenkins]

The police in NSW have ha a pay rise of 32% putting them on around $130 thousand a year, not a bad rise, only that it left the pot empty and the nurses never got cent despite promises.
Des