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Thread: Dirty war

  1. #1
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    Default Dirty war

    We had a doco sarvo on our TV, came from UK and made by John Pilger, an ex Australian who has been in UK for decades.

    It was about the UK NHS and even if half true would give reason for concern.

    Called, 'A dirty war on the NHS' begins with the start of the NHs in 1948.
    It moves to the time of Thatcher who according to this doco had advisers who said the system could be privatized in part.

    Blair then began the process.

    It appears that much of the Ambulance service is private with a number of NHS hospitals now run by private companies.
    As I say even if half true the people have reason to be very concerned.

    Is this true or just a scratch that Pilger is using to satisfy his own mantra, or is it para of a bigger story about the NHS?
    Happy daze John in Oz.

    Life is too short to blend in.

    John Strange R737787
    World Traveller

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  3. #2
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    Default Re: Dirty war

    Not seen the dock John, but the NHS is now really run down, courtesy in the last few years of the chancellor Osbourne, who skipped off to a nice high paid job in media when he resigned, who for years, cut the services of all the public systems. At the moment i am trying to contact the eye dept at the only hospital we have on the Island, to enquire about my cataract operation, i was referred 3 weeks ago, and have heard nothing from them, so i have no idea how long i have to wait. phoning is no go, the enquiry phone must be off the hook. So thats the state of play it seems, a lifetime of work paying in to a system, and it now looks like £2000 of private surgery to get any result at all, kt
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    Default Re: Dirty war

    Quote Originally Posted by Keith Tindell View Post
    Not seen the dock John, but the NHS is now really run down, courtesy in the last few years of the chancellor Osbourne, who skipped off to a nice high paid job in media when he resigned, who for years, cut the services of all the public systems. At the moment i am trying to contact the eye dept at the only hospital we have on the Island, to enquire about my cataract operation, i was referred 3 weeks ago, and have heard nothing from them, so i have no idea how long i have to wait. phoning is no go, the enquiry phone must be off the hook. So thats the state of play it seems, a lifetime of work paying in to a system, and it now looks like £2000 of private surgery to get any result at all, kt
    I always remember that p---k standing up and saying "we all have to share the pain" referring to the slashing of everything; at the time he was sitting on a £7 million trust fund, lodged in the Cayman Islands or somewhere similar, not to mention all his other sources of "income".

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    Default Re: Dirty war

    If the NHS is in crisis, which is most probably is, it's more down to Joe public putting totally unreasonable demands on it. Think of all the druggies and alkies turning up at A&E demanding attention, Johnny foreigners turning up with all sorts of strange diseases plus medical tourists and that is before you take into account general population turning up with minor ailments that could be better treated by a visit to the chemist. Eldest daughter works for the north east ambulance service in its 111 service as a pediatric clinical specialist and the number of calls they receive from people wanting an ambulance for the most stupid reasons is unbelievable and when told that they should make their own way to hospital they pull the mental health trick meaning that an ambulance has to be sent to them instead of it going to a stroke or heart attack victim.
    Rgds
    J.A.

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    Default Re: Dirty war

    I think that is valid points John, there are countless reasons. I had occasion to have stitches removed after an operation, and a check over by the surgeon. There was a real problem waiting for a nurse to see to me, when she did come, she apologised for the long wait, and said she was the only one available for 3 wards. I asked her opinion on what the problem was with the NHS hospitals, and she pointed upstairs, too many managers she said. The reason we are allowing ourselves to rob poor countries of their nurses they have trained, is because of project 2000, which said all training of nurse was to be the same as a degree course, so trainee nurses would be coming out of the courses with debts of £40000 +, so no in-house training with matrons as the old system which had been good for years, kt
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    Default Re: Dirty war

    I have No complaints about the NHS I have always had excellent service from them,
    A&E is always crowded with Druggies and drunks,
    Any Self Inflicted ailment should be treated in a separate unit from normal patients, and made to Pay for their treatment, No Excuse for self harm.
    If they can pay for drugs and ale then they can pay for treatment.
    Brian

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    Default Re: Dirty war

    For those suggesting those with "self inflicted" illnesses etc should be made to pay separately, think on the following based on the most recent data from both HMRC and the NHS:

    Last year the UK Government raised £10.5 billion in tax from alcohol sales, the annual cost to the NHS of alcohol related illnesses is estimated at £3.5 billion.
    Last year the UK Government raised £9.8 billion in tax from tobacco sales, the annual cost to the NHS of tobacco related illnesses is estimated at approximately £5 billion.

    Therefore, based on those government sourced figures would it not be fair to say that the smokers and drinkers of this world more than contribute their fair share in tax and not only fund their own treatments, but also rather generously fund those of non smokers and non drinkers?

    As for foreigners using the NHS, that organisation does indeed keep records of who uses their services. By their own figures, it is estimated that health "tourism" - that is foreign nationals who deliberately come to this country for unplanned treatment - costs the NHS between somewhere between £60-£80 million per year. The bulk of that is A&E costs or for procedures/operations that must be carried out for the safety of the patient.
    The annual budget of the NHS is approximately £130 billion, therefore the cost of such health tourism is only some 0.06% of the NHS budget.
    So called "normal" use of the NHS by foreign nationals, that is those who happen to be in this country and then fall ill legitimately (i.e. not in a suspicious way) or healthcare provided for those who have a European Health Insurance Card (for which the NHS/Government can claim back the costs of treatment from the EU country concerned) is estimated at £1.8 billion per year. The latter cost (1.3% of the NHS budget) is in many ways unavoidable and much of the cost is recoverable via the EHIC.

    Food for thought.

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    Default Re: Dirty war

    This is another cost to the NHS that could easily be trimmed. A friend of mine lives in France, for all his sins, when going to the hospital he must take some one with him to translate as he is not fluent in French. Here is our system, kt

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16905491
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    Default Re: Dirty war

    Our system here in Oz appears to work well, but we do not have the population or the 'tourist' patient.
    Our nurses are Uni trained but only pay a bout a quarter of the normal fee for student courses.

    We also have those who tend to treat the emergency department as a general practice, mostly with those from Mid East countries where the local GP works at the hospital.

    But on a personal note I have only ever had the very best of treatment, but then I have a first rate GP.
    Happy daze John in Oz.

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    John Strange R737787
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  14. #10
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    Default Re: Dirty war

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim R Christie View Post

    Food for thought.



    RE #7: Interesting Jim.

    K.

    .

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