The NHS

[- English -]

Ok, Im gonna go on a rant here.

WHY DO PEOPLE SLAG THE NHS OFF SO BADLY??!!

The NHS is the best thing ever, yet thousands of people slag it off when they can, I dont understand. Without the NHS, millions of people would have died and millions would be in hospital debts. People take the NHS for granted. If you go on holiday without insurance and fall ill, break your leg or so; it will cost you thousands to be treated over there. I know when my nephew was ill, they must have spent thousands and thousands of pounds on him, not just for medication for care in general. Now if this was a private hospital, our family would be paying these charges back for life.

So what, "Oh little Jiimmy bruised his elbow playing football and had to wait 2hours to see someone". The matter of the fact is the NHS are about saving lives, and if you came into the hospital with death circumstances you would be treated immediatly.

I dont mind seeing national insurance charges on my wage slips, i know our family has used its fair share of money in the nhs system.

It just pisses me off when you see fat bitches or so "http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7241306.stm" slagging it off when they can.

Opinions people?

 

[old.Tohtori]

Selfish bastards.

Everyone thinks that their venereal decease is so much more important then someones heart problem.

 

[Dukat]

No one wants to see the NHS go. On the other hand sometimes the waiting lists can be absurdly long.

 

[leviathane]

to be fair the NHS is finally getting alot better now that the government have been continuously pouring money into it. And yes the NHS is a brilliant concept just when it came out/ few years back was poor executed.
My only problem with the NHS is that the people working for it get paid sweet fa. Hence why there are pretty much no NHS dentists and nurses are always threatening to strike.

 

[Chronictank]

The NHS is good, probably the best medical service in the world.
HOWEVER it is slowly being erroded into a shit service through political pressure and incompetant middle management
No amount of money will solve problems with the structure of the business, which is becoming very evident

 

[Lamp]

http://www.rcgp.org.uk/pdf/ISS_INFO_08_NOV04.pdf

 

[Ezteq]

i have this little motto in life, actually i have a couple.

one is "its always better to have something and not need it than to need it and not have it" which probably accounts for the reason i always carry a torch, pen knife, compass and dehydrated food supplies with me every where i go (you dont know if im kidding or not do you)

and the other, motto, i was talking about mottos; stay with me here this is relevant. Any way the other motto i have is "Dont moan about free stuff" like hospitals, schools and libraries and things liek that cos if we didnt have them we'd be in a hell of a worse position than we're in now.

Ok so its not perfect...but ITS FREE! (yes yes ok so we pay for it with our taxes etc blah blah) you want top notch service with a smile then bugger off to bupa, cant afford it? well tough then lol, if the was america and you came out with that one they wouldnt treat you.

 

[Dukat]

i have this little motto in life, actually i have a couple.

one is "its always better to have something and not need it than to need it and not have it" which probably accounts for the reason i always carry a torch, pen knife, compass and dehydrated food supplies with me every where i go (you dont know if im kidding or not do you)

and the other, motto, i was talking about mottos; stay with me here this is relevant. Any way the other motto i have is "Dont moan about free stuff" like hospitals, schools and libraries and things liek that cos if we didnt have them we'd be in a hell of a worse position than we're in now.

Ok so its not perfect...but ITS FREE! (yes yes ok so we pay for it with our taxes etc blah blah) you want top notch service with a smile then bugger off to bupa, cant afford it? well tough then lol, if the was america and you came out with that one they wouldnt treat you.

hahaha best line from AVP, I say it all the time too I'm usually talking about packed lunches though!

 

[Ezteq]

pfft that was my motto loooong beofre AvP!

ever see a tarentino film called true romance? Christian thingymebob is saying how its better to have a gun and not need it and i thought bugger me what a good philosophy...however no one would let me have a gun so i adapted it lol

slater!

christian slater!

 

[Huntingtons]

actully, its not free since its your tax, if NHS wasnt there you would be richer - THINK ABOUT THAT, HAH!?

 

[Chronictank]

Sorry Ez but that is a pretty poor attitude to have towards something you are paying for,
If they put you in a dirty room (dirty not health hazard) gave you horrible food (enough for nutrition, but tastes horrid) and take 6 hrs to see you, would you sit there and take it? ofc not
If noone complains then nothing will ever get fixed, its the same in IT people see a broken computer and ignore it so it stays broken as noone knows about the problem

 

[Corran]

NHS.. free??? Since when? Pay them enough each month for them to provide an adaquate service... but most the time it is sub par. I have had to wait over 2 weeks for an appointment with my Doctor because it is not an emergancy. Yeah, nice one.

For the money I pay in national insurance I could easily get much better private health insurance, and make extra contributions to a private pension... the problem is you dont get a choice. If you work you have to pay N.I contributions.

Yes the NHS is good for some, but not for alot of people. 3 years for operations etc which you could get inside 2months if go private. Hell my mother just last year got booked into a private operation in a matter of a couple weeks.

Or my partner 5 years roughly was in a car accident... went for private physio in the end to recover... about 2years later she got an appointment letter through for NHS physio. Really, how the hell can you leave a screwed up back and hip for over 2 fucking years? The physio cost an absolute fortune, luckily alot of the cost was eventually got back though through insurance.

p.s.
True Romance is a classic film

edit: further more NHS hospitals is about the worst place you can go due to MRSA... and dont say the risk is low as my partners gran is currently in there since new years eve... and lo and behold... after 5 weeks of being in they tell us that she has MRSA (i wont even go into the flippant way they informed us). Much less heard of in private hospitals as they actually equip hospitals and conduct business in a much better mannor.

 

[Huntingtons]

yeah, but what about all the lives it saves - its not always perfect but when its lifethreatening they are there. want the american way of health care?

 

[Chronictank]

yeah, but what about all the lives it saves - its not always perfect but when its lifethreatening they are there. want the american way of health care?

exactly, it is an amazing service for what it is but it is being ruined by these new 'quick fix' schemes labour seem to treasure so much

 

[Ezteq]

moan about it all you want. lets see how you'd feel if they shut it down completely, it may not be brilliant but its what we got.

in the 1800's when they were just setting up the education system for everyone (meaning poor kids got to go to school) they asked this guy, i forget his name now, to set it up and he said (basically, paraphrased) this

"I can promise you it will either be cheap or it will be efficient"

well our NSH isnt too damn bad really i mean ive been in hospital lots of times and ive always got good treatment, some times the people who moan about it are people who have only been to hospital once or twice (in some cases never) I cant recall how many times ive been and from personal experience its pretty damn good.

 

[kirennia]

I'm in for a non-life saving operation tomorrow after about 5 months of waiting since booking the original appointment. I guess that sort of means I'm 'judging the world from my throne' so to speak but maybe it's something to do with the hospitals in less 'city' like areas having less critical operations going to them thus less of a waiting list?

I completely agree that 2years waiting for a back complaint is ridiculous but it's better then having to fork out tens of thousands of pounds which 99% of the english population don't have just lying about; it's a service which tries to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor and for what it is, I think it's a good service, even if it is completely funded by smokers who they're wanting to make pay for any service...but that's another debate ^^

 

[Chronictank]

moan about it all you want. lets see how you'd feel if they shut it down completely, it may not be brilliant but its what we got.

in the 1800's when they were just setting up the education system for everyone (meaning poor kids got to go to school) they asked this guy, i forget his name now, to set it up and he said (basically, paraphrased) this

"I can promise you it will either be cheap or it will be efficient"

well our NSH isnt too damn bad really i mean ive been in hospital lots of times and ive always got good treatment, some times the people who moan about it are people who have only been to hospital once or twice (in some cases never) I cant recall how many times ive been and from personal experience its pretty damn good.

It won't be shut down though as long as people are paying for it through tax, me personally if it was shut down it won't make much of a difference at all, in fact i will benefit if anything as i would be paying less through tax (I am with HSA) but that is neither here nor there as i think its a great service.

I dont see what you are pointing out with that quote as the NHS is neither cheap or efficient

You are right the NHS isn't bad, but the problem is it is getting worse and ignoring the problems will not make them go away

 

[Ezteq]

my point (i think) was that your running a free service thats bleeding funds like puss from a kanker it can either be cheap or it can be effient, the NHS is kind of similar to early schooling in that respect we're lucky it may not run too smoothly but its cheap. Or if we could all afford to go private (I would if i could afford it tbh) then we could expect efficient service.

i think...

 

[Bahumat]

I love the NSH simply because without it i'd have to pay a fucking fortune on Insulin and doctors appointments etc.

Some people whine saying "oh i never need the nhs, i have no illness/disability/disease" etc. They then do not think they should have to contribute National Insurance etc.

But the fact is that fucking prat may settle down with a woman who developers cancer or something, then the NHS will be of use to them.

i dont know where im going with this reply, but i love the fact we have NHS even if it's a little slow. (you miss a diabetic appointment and have to wait a few months lol)

 

[Corran]

I love the NSH simply because without it i'd have to pay a fucking fortune on Insulin and doctors appointments etc.

Some people whine saying "oh i never need the nhs, i have no illness/disability/disease" etc. They then do not think they should have to contribute National Insurance etc.

But the fact is that fucking prat may settle down with a woman who developers cancer or something, then the NHS will be of use to them.

i dont know where im going with this reply, but i love the fact we have NHS even if it's a little slow. (you miss a diabetic appointment and have to wait a few months lol)

I have various illnesses and feel i get too little from the "NHS" services for what I pay in (as stated previously)

My partner has got chronic illnesses and alergies etc that affect every day live... and the NHS basically will not give her any help... so tell me. why are we putting money into a service that wont help even when there are ways in which they can?

 

[Bahumat]

Corran I do think you got the shit end of the stick, and your family too. Dont worry, i'm not gonna say "oh but it's just one person out of 50050505005505 other happy people".

If you (people in general) can afford private healthcare then great. However in an ideal world all those private doctors/surgeons would join the NHS for less money+benefits, thus improving the NHS service.

If the NHS has more employee's they would have a faster turnaround. Also with more hospitals this would help, but it's finding the space on this silly little country.
If they increase the staff count, that'll mean N.I. contributions would either rise, or money would get taken from somewhere else.

 

[Bahumat]

why are we putting money into a service that wont help even when there are ways in which they can?

Money i'm afraid. Also I have read similar things which really pissed me off, so I know how you feel buddy.

I remember reading an article for Diabetes, it was something to do with an easier way to administer Insulin. Some form of tablet/asthma style pump.

Tony Blair said that because it was not essential, they would not make it free (even though France or some other country did). He then said that Injections still work and only cause minor discomfort.

Ok, when I inject I dont have to rest for 4 weeks after, but being able to just pop a pill or use an Asthma pump would be so much easier!

p.s. this article was a year or so ago.

 

[Chronictank]

Money i'm afraid. Also I have read similar things which really pissed me off, so I know how you feel buddy.

I remember reading an article for Diabetes, it was something to do with an easier way to administer Insulin. Some form of tablet/asthma style pump.

Tony Blair said that because it was not essential, they would not make it free (even though France or some other country did). He then said that Injections still work and only cause minor discomfort.

Ok, when I inject I dont have to rest for 4 weeks after, but being able to just pop a pill or use an Asthma pump would be so much easier!

p.s. this article was a year or so ago.

thats the problem mate, i joined private because of NHS waiting lists
I hurt my arm and it would have been 3 months on pain killers and extremet discomfort or take the hit and just go private in a week.
It's not about whether or not the NHS should exist, i was arguing the point i thought Ez (turns out i got the wrong end of the stick) was putting across that if it is shit you shouldnt complain about it.
Which is downright wrong imo for the reasons i have posted

 

[Tilda]

I agree with english, 110%.
This thread on the BBC recently got me so angry I had to stop reading it. The sheer quantity of utter ignorance was astounding and infuriating.
BBC NEWS | Have Your Say | Should GPs work longer hours?

See here for a vague GP-ish opinion: GP Hours - New Media Medicine

Corran, MRSA is everywhere, many studies I've seen private hospitals have come out worse because they simply don't have the controls that NHS hospitals have been forced to impliment.
Its possible to be an MRSA carrier for most of your life (indeed apparently up to 15-20% of people carry MRSA most of their lives, without having caught it from in a hospital) the problems occur when it gets into an open wound and so MRSA positive patients are treated very carefuly, a) to prevent them passing it to other patients and b) to prevent it getting into wounds.
If you're saying your gran is carrying MRSA, its not a huge deal, if she has an infection, it sucks for her and she has my sympathy, but what condition would she be in if she wasn't in hospital?

While the money pouring in to the NHS isn't always going to the right places, it certainly is helping.

If anybody wants to debate the rights and wrongs of GP waiting times, thats a whole separate thread. The government puts pressure on GPs practices to ensure that someone can see a doctor the same day if urgent, or within 48 hours if not, this is leading some GP's practices to split their regular appointments into "next day appointments" and "general appointments" the general ones book up way in advance depending on the popularity of your doctor, the next day ones are usually hard to get in to because everybody is told to ring up for them at 8:30, but the GP's practices then meet the stupid government target.
If you cant see a GP for a routine appointment blame the government not the NHS.

 

[Corran]

I agree with english, 110%.
This thread on the BBC recently got me so angry I had to stop reading it. The sheer quantity of utter ignorance was astounding and infuriating.
BBC NEWS | Have Your Say | Should GPs work longer hours?

See here for a vague GP-ish opinion: GP Hours - New Media Medicine

Corran, MRSA is everywhere, many studies I've seen private hospitals have come out worse because they simply don't have the controls that NHS hospitals have been forced to impliment.
Its possible to be an MRSA carrier for most of your life (indeed apparently up to 15-20% of people carry MRSA most of their lives, without having caught it from in a hospital) the problems occur when it gets into an open wound and so MRSA positive patients are treated very carefuly, a) to prevent them passing it to other patients and b) to prevent it getting into wounds.
If you're saying your gran is carrying MRSA, its not a huge deal, if she has an infection, it sucks for her and she has my sympathy, but what condition would she be in if she wasn't in hospital?

While the money pouring in to the NHS isn't always going to the right places, it certainly is helping.

If anybody wants to debate the rights and wrongs of GP waiting times, thats a whole separate thread. The government puts pressure on GPs practices to ensure that someone can see a doctor the same day if urgent, or within 48 hours if not, this is leading some GP's practices to split their regular appointments into "next day appointments" and "general appointments" the general ones book up way in advance depending on the popularity of your doctor, the next day ones are usually hard to get in to because everybody is told to ring up for them at 8:30, but the GP's practices then meet the stupid government target.
If you cant see a GP for a routine appointment blame the government not the NHS.

Tilda, she is the unfortunate in that she has got an infection... couple this with she has got open wounds (bed sores) that formed in hospital near the infected area just makes matters worse. Just have to hope for the best.

She is in due to a broken shoulder, she has had both legs amputated years ago so is wheelchair bound, she is 98 years old, due to morphine treatment when legs amputated she has got a twisted hand which cant be used basically. Unfortunately the broken shoulder/arm is the one with her good hand.

She had to remain in hospital simply because don't have the facilities in the house to cope with her. If it wasnt for that she would have been home recovering and not contracted MRSA (or very unlikely). That is why it is so annoying to be honest. Since she been in things just go from bad to worse it seems. But I guess that is life.

As for the hospital reacting well to treating it/stopping the spread. I can safely say the place isnt. I have seen bad hygene whilst there (nurses not washing hands etc even though had contact with gran thus increased chance of spreading it), and they havent even seperated her away as they officially should. But of course they dont listen to family about the matter.

Of course, this may just be local issues. But unfortunately I never have had a good time with the NHS. Or I lie, I did in my original area when younger. But in my last two areas (one south england, one scotland) it has been damn right appalling at times.

Yes the NHS comes under some attacks in which arent justified, but there are times when it is justified and just gets swept under the carpet. But in a target driven society (government to blame but they are the people in control of NHS) this is always going to be the problem

 

[tris-]

after my last 2 days i cannot fault the NHS and believe the staff should be paid a fuck load more than they are.

on tuesday i went to the docs was sent to the assesment clinic at the hospital. there were 2 very friendly and helpful care workers who took my BP, ECG and blood samples. they knew everything inside out. later on a doc came and explained i needed a CT scan on my brain. one of the care workers wheeled me there and explained everything about what it was.
sadly the CT did not show what they wanted it so i had to undergo a lumbar puncture. if you dont know what it is. basically they insert a needle into the lower part of your spine and drain the spinal fluid out. i was scared at this point, but the care worker explained to me what it involved. she sat with me through the whole thing and kept me calm.
later on i was transferred to a ward as they found blood in the fluid. the staff nurse looked after me very well and kept me topped up with meds. you gotta remember all these people work 12 hour shifts and to keep the same level of caring and helpfulness throughout is quite exceptional.

but to cut a long story short i was given the ok by a neuroscientist and told to fuck off home with a bag of drugs.

 

[Blackjack]

Watch Michael Moore's new film, Sicko. And see where you could end up without it

 

[Hawkwind]

I spent 8 months in pain and not being able to walk or drive a car after a bad knee injury. Due to the waiting lists on surgery and not being a life threatening condition. I went private in the end - same consultant, fixed in 3 days. I actually had private medical cover through the company but believed in the NHS and did not want to use it. I was left with no choice in the end, just took too long.

That is why some people get pissed of with the NHS. Until you experience the bad side of you think it's great.

 

[Marc]

My mates GF went into hospital with a broken arm and needed an operation.

She died during theater

GG NHS

 

[Tilda]

My mates GF went into hospital with a broken arm and needed an operation.

She died during theater

GG NHS

Go go one sided stories...

All operations have risks.