Coronavirus (2021) thread

[Octavian]

when did James O'Brien initiate a 20 year war?

Good point well made. He still supports jug ears.

 

[bobbyowenquiff]

Does this mean that The Guardian is actually correct in highlighting the fact that the NHS gets stretched to the limit every year and that Isabelle Oakeshott is therefore being a trifle disingenuous in drawing attention to what is, in fact, a genuine and persistently ongoing crisis rather than a manufactured one?

I would also be interested to know what your family members think of the view that the NHS is being deliberately run down as a prelude to wholesale privatisation, or was before the pandemic.

The reality is that the NHS has been run-down for decades and perhaps will never be able to cope with such a huge longer-living demographic. All my family members believe that radical reform and modernisation is required. I don't think any of them want "wholesale privatisation" but they are open to a debate about some of the sacred cows such as charging people a small fee for a GP's appointment to deter people from not turning up. They all say that it is incredibly badly managed and is probably just too big to ever be efficient. None of them thinks that just "throwing money at the problem" is a long-term solution though the NHS does need some more investment.
For example I have heard one relative (a GP) say that the entire function of the GP needs to change. There is too much overlap with Pharmacists and Nurse Practicioners should play a bigger role. As a general rule there is too much job demarcation and not enough flexibiility. Algorithms can diagnose some illnesses very efficiently but there is a lot of protectionism and some people are not willing to modernise. The processes in many cases are 30 years out of date. Some hospital consultants still insist on paper letters being written to them for example. It is a bloody mess and no politicians of any party have been prepared to sort it out.

 

[ayrshire_blue]

The reality is that the NHS has been run-down for decades and perhaps will never be able to cope with such a huge longer-living demographic. All my family members believe that radical reform and modernisation is required. I don't think any of them want "wholesale privatisation" but they are open to a debate about some of the sacred cows such as charging people a small fee for a GP's appointment to deter people from not turning up. They all say that it is incredibly badly managed and is probably just too big to ever be efficient. None of them thinks that just "throwing money at the problem" is a long-term solution though the NHS does need some more investment.
For example I have heard one relative (a GP) say that the entire function of the GP needs to change. There is too much overlap with Pharmacists and Nurse Practicioners should play a bigger role. As a general rule there is too much job demarcation and not enough flexibiility. Algorithms can diagnose some illnesses very efficiently but there is a lot of protectionism and some people are not willing to modernise. The processes in many cases are 30 years out of date. Some hospital consultants still insist on paper letters being written to them for example. It is a bloody mess and no politicians of any party have been prepared to sort it out.

Great post. Sad, but true.

 

[Churchlawtonblue]

so that means we just let them get on with it ? There’s 1 in 7 NHS staff isolating in London, there won’t be enough nurses if covid patients do require ICU. Keeping admissions low during the next couple of weeks whilst we await the result of over 100k infections is surely the priority.

We have had a rise from 30000 to 60000 cases from the start of Nov to 10 days ago. During which hospitalisations and deaths have continued to fall. You dont need to worry.

 

[grunge]

We have had a rise from 30000 to 60000 cases from the start of Nov to 10 days ago. During which hospitalisations and deaths have continued to fall. You dont need to worry.

going by the tracker site hospitalisations have been increasing, granted very slowly. Since end of Nov.

agreed deaths have been dropping.

 

[Churchlawtonblue]

going by the tracker site hospitalisations have been increasing, granted very slowly. Since end of Nov.

agreed deaths have been dropping.

Been decreasing since start of nov gone up slightly last week or so.

See my post earlier this evening for an accurate summation of last 7-8 weeks

 

[WNRH]

The reality is that the NHS has been run-down for decades and perhaps will never be able to cope with such a huge longer-living demographic. All my family members believe that radical reform and modernisation is required. I don't think any of them want "wholesale privatisation" but they are open to a debate about some of the sacred cows such as charging people a small fee for a GP's appointment to deter people from not turning up. They all say that it is incredibly badly managed and is probably just too big to ever be efficient. None of them thinks that just "throwing money at the problem" is a long-term solution though the NHS does need some more investment.
For example I have heard one relative (a GP) say that the entire function of the GP needs to change. There is too much overlap with Pharmacists and Nurse Practicioners should play a bigger role. As a general rule there is too much job demarcation and not enough flexibiility. Algorithms can diagnose some illnesses very efficiently but there is a lot of protectionism and some people are not willing to modernise. The processes in many cases are 30 years out of date. Some hospital consultants still insist on paper letters being written to them for example. It is a bloody mess and no politicians of any party have been prepared to sort it out.

As a person who has several members of family in the NHS I can agree.

Everyone goes on about how the NHS is underfunded but it is haemorrhaging money on a yearly basis.

Unfortunately the only way to fix it is for it to be run like a business where every penny counts but that will mean selling it off.

 

[johnnytapia]

Don't disagree with him though I'm not sure a war criminal is going to change the minds of those who distrust authority.

I think winning 3 General Elections tends to give a modicum of authority

 

[johnnytapia]

As a person who has several members of family in the NHS I can agree.

Everyone goes on about how the NHS is underfunded but it is haemorrhaging money on a yearly basis.

Unfortunately the only way to fix it is for it to be run like a business where every penny counts but that will mean selling it off.

Like the banks?

 

[Bluewonder]

I think winning 3 General Elections tends to give a modicum of authority

Though illegal wars tend to taint it.