The Labour Government

BrianW said:
I'm surprised it's as low as that.

Most public services are people-heavy by their very nature. For example, who wants their kids taught by a robot? Who wants their gran's arse wiped by a robot? Who wants hospital wards staffed by robots? Even if such technology existed.

There simply isn't the same scope for automation as in manufacturing.

Where jobs can be automated they largely have been. When I started at the Council in 1971 there were legions of clerks. One guy, for example, kept the accounts in a massive ledger, all done with pen and ink. There were vast typing pools. All those kinds of jobs have gone. They were gone 20 years ago and had been for years. I'm pretty certain that the Civil Service, NHS and any other organisation you can think of will have done the same.
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I think nobody has a problem with the direct patient/client facing roles, it's the tiers above them that have multiplied without justification and they are of course positioned to cushion themselves when those beneath are often under threat (and underpaid).
 
Blue and true said:
I agree there is a limit to how much we should interfere with people's liberties. But stopping them smoking in beer gardens is hardly authoritarian tyranny; banning smoking altogether? That shouldn't happen. Nor should banning alcohol consumption, despite the almighty strain it puts on the health service. Smokers can still enjoy their cigarettes without needing to light up next to others who don't want to destroy their lungs. I don't have children, but if I did and someone lit up next to them while they were eating their lunch I'd consider that person to a thoughtless wanker.

My gran, bless her, used to smoke two packs a day; but she would always go into the garden to smoke away from her grandkids.
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Just not a beer garden I guess:-)

How big do people want this exclusion zone? Is it wind dependant?

Anyhow I haven't noticed this new phenomenon of people running up to kids just to light a fag.
 
johnny crossan said:
I think nobody has a problem with the patient/client facing roles, it's the tiers above them that have multiplied without justification and they are of course positioned to preserve themselves when all beneath ae under threat (and underpaid).
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I think the NHS is astonishingly efficient.

The US of A spends twice the amount of GDP on health as we do. Their GDP is larger, but for all that they don't get universal health care.

You will find that most comparable countries spend a greater proportion of GDP on health than we do.

When you have an organisation as large as the NHS it is going to take a lot of managing. And some of those guys and girls are going to be on big bucks compared to most of us. (Although not necessarily when compared to private sector equivalents.)

That's not to say that there is no waste. I'm sure there is. That's not to say that all NHS managers are top-notch either.

The one very senior NHS manager I had dealings with was clueless. OK, it's anecdotal, but that's how she came over. It doesn't change the fact that managing the NHS is no easy task.
 
BrianW said:
I think the NHS is astonishingly efficient.

The US of A spends twice the amount of GDP on health as we do. Their GDP is larger, but for all that they don't get universal health care.

You will find that most comparable countries spend a greater proportion of GDP on health than we do.

When you have an organisation as large as the NHS it is going to take a lot of managing. And some of those guys and girls are going to be on big bucks compared to most of us. (Although not necessarily when compared to private sector equivalents.)

That's not to say that there is no waste. I'm sure there is. That's not to say that all NHS managers are top-notch either.

The one very senior NHS manager I had dealings with was clueless. OK, it's anecdotal, but that's how she came over. It doesn't change the fact that managing the NHS is no easy task.
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the long term failure of the NHS to put in place adequate IT systems is simply appalling management.
 
hilts said:
Just not a beer garden I guess:-)

How big do people want this exclusion zone? Is it wind dependant?

Anyhow I haven't noticed this new phenomenon of people running up to kids just to light a fag.
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I think less people are smoking these days, it will eventually die out as each generation is taught the dangers early on in life.
For now, those who aren’t able to stop due to smoking for decades should be given space in a beer garden to smoke. It can’t be that hard to build a decent smoking area away from families etc.
 
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