The angry thread

[zopadooper]

Are you daring to suggest that the NHS has strayed from the well oiled machine that is an N gauge loco?

[port perran]

I think that type of thing is all too common.
Glad that you are ok though Mick.

[Newportnobby]

Are you daring to suggest that the NHS has strayed from the well oiled machine that is an N gauge loco?

In Chorley that N gauge loco would be a Lima Deltic

[stevewalker]

What's the point of making appointments before 09.20 if they know he's not going to arrive until 09.15?

Yes. My wife had numerous appointments at Manchester Eye Hospital and they seemed to make huge numbers of appointments for the same time and then let everyone wait. We never managed a visit of less than 4 hours (for a 15 minute max appointment) and the worst was arriving for a 10:00 appointment and not being seen until 16:15 ... the clinic officially closed at 13:30 !!!

My father, who has been going there for many years, told me that it is always like that.

Recently my wife needed an operation on her wrist and was told to be at the hospital by 07:30 - which meant us getting our children up very early and dropping them round to my parents ready for the school run. I had to take time off work (unpaid) as I normally start at 07:00 to 07:30. She was nervous and they gave her pre-meds so that she would be calm and her blood pressure low. I had booked the whole day off, as we were expecting her to be a few hours and then she'd need me to take her home and take care of her. Instead, we waited and waited. The pre-meds wore off. She was eventually taken through to theatre at 16:30. So she'd been made to worry all day, the children had been dragged out of bed very early and I'd lost a whole day's pay for nothing. They knew the list for the day, why not get people in at the right time?

I also had an exploratory operation some years ago (luckily it proved their diagnosis of lymphoma to be wrong). I had to be in by 20:00 on Thursday to be ready for theatre at 11:00 on Friday. Apparently that was the only way to reserve the bed so it wasn't given to someone else. Grrrrr.

SteveW

[Newportnobby]

I reckon the NHS is in collusion with the rip off artists who run the hospital car parks. The longer the delay the more they get

[zopadooper]

Here Here.  I have advocated for a long time that you ought to charged £5 to park but if you don't get out within an hour you get your money back!

[NeMo]

It makes me really angry when people complain about the excellent service the NHS provides, especially considering how under funded it is. It just seems an easy target. The healthcare funding in the UK is low compared to comparable European countries. In 2016 the UK spent $4192 per person, France $4600 per person and Germany $5551.

Hear, hear!

The NHS is probably the single best thing about the way the UK works, and one of its two crown jewels alongside the sheer vitality of the financial City of London. (An odd pairing, I know, but for all its flaws, some of which are socially divisive, the City generates vast amounts of money that feed into taxation, consumer spending, and job creation.)

I lived in the US for three years. Unless you are very poor (Medicaid) or old enough to be on Medicare then "going to the doctor" is not something you undertake lightly. Millions of low and middle income people ignore pain and illness simply because they can't afford the fees, while others are locked into certain jobs because they need the healthcare benefits that come with them. It's a catastrophic system unless you happen to be among the wealthier end of the population, and for young people especially is creating real long-term hardship.

For all its failings, the NHS does what it promises to do, which is to provide free healthcare to everyone who needs it without costing them a penny at the time. The taxation system behind it is reasonably fair, but alas, as you say @escafeld, the demands on the NHS are increasing faster than the money can be collected to pay for it.

Without bringing up the dreaded "B" word again, it is worth remembering a certain campaign "accidentally" suggested millions of pounds of money were being diverted from the NHS into EU coffers, for which there is absolutely no evidence at all. The fact this "fake news" factoid played to people's fears so powerfully underlines how important the NHS is in the UK. I won't have a word said against it!

Cheers, NeMo

[Newportnobby]

It makes me really angry when people complain about the excellent service the NHS provides, especially considering how under funded it is. It just seems an easy target.

Having had all sorts of treatment on the NHS including a hip replacement and a triple bypass (not at the same time!) I feel quite qualified to voice an opinion about services in Chorley, Preston and Blackpool, thank you. Probably more so than you are. I have repeatedly said before the hands on staff are above wonderful. It's the others I worry about.

I got the feeling the entire day was just too much for him.

Did you ask him if he had been called out during the night, or whether the previous patient was not very polite!

[/quote]

I'm not interested what the previous patient said/did. He should be professional enough not to make me feel as if I was just ruining his day.
When I said the staff told me he comes in at 09.15, they meant every day - not just that particular day.

Recently my 84 year old mother had a fall and I took her to A & E on her GPs advice. It took more than 10 minutes to get her booked in because the 2 nurses on reception had a debate about who should be doing the booking in. After 4½ hours she had an X ray and was then seen by a doctor who apologised profusely for the delay, was courteous, extremely competent and actually listened to his patient. Hands on staff again.

As for paying more tax - yes I would, providing it got to the people who deserve it

[The Q]

Touristwombles, just why do they think that if they are on holiday it's quite ok to wander around on 30 to 60 mph roads when there is a perfectly good pavement.

[RailGooner]

Touristwombles, just why do they think that if they are on holiday it's quite ok to wander around on 30 to 60 mph roads when there is a perfectly good pavement.

Because the pavement ahead is block by another group of them stood gawking at (select one):
[ ] a red phone box
[ ] a red bus
[ ] an unarmed policeman
[ ] a staggeringly unspectacular thing that I've walked past every day for decades and never noticed.



And have you ever tried driving down the stretch of Abbey Road featured on the Beatles' album cover? Touristwombles (you should TM that) stopping in the middle of the Zebra crossing for a selfie!?

[The Q]

Touristwombles, just why do they think that if they are on holiday it's quite ok to wander around on 30 to 60 mph roads when there is a perfectly good pavement.

Because the pavement ahead is block by another group of them stood gawking at (select one):
[ ] a red phone box
[ ] a red bus
[ ] an unarmed policeman
[ ] a staggeringly unspectacular thing that I've walked past every day for decades and never noticed.



And have you ever tried driving down the stretch of Abbey Road featured on the Beatles' album cover? Touristwombles (you should TM that) stopping in the middle of the Zebra crossing for a selfie!?

This is deepest Norfolk, the touristwombles  we get here are from the UK, furriners are anyone from outside the county... In some cases anyone from outside your town.

What's a policeman?  The nearest we get is a multicoloured car going down to the beach for a break, maybe seen a couple of times a year.

Red bus? We don't get busses of any colour round here either. The nearest would be two miles away, and to get to work (25 miles away) using them, I'd have to leave home an hour before I finished working here previous day. First bus 08:08, last 13:58

We do have the odd red telephone box, the nearest 4 miles away, which was always the nearest, some still in use, most these days are things like libraries.

[Bob Tidbury]

Suffolk is just as bad we go to the Southwold show every year and we allways say you turn off the A12 and the world as we know it STOPS  max speed of any car is 20 miles an hour people meandering in the middle of the road plus the odd animal.who is just lying there round a bend in the middle of the road
BUT its worth it the scenery is lovely .B&Bs friendly with good Full.English Breakfast and a good Model Railway Show as well .
People who live in that part of the world are so lucky ,they want to try living in High Wycombe with its steep hills and no real.scenery untill you.get out of town .to places like Burnham Beeches and the like.
Bob Tidbury

[Tonye]

I have to agree with Bob on that one. Suffolk is home to adnams brewery and always expensive, like all the places to visit in and around Southwold. Bob I have PM you!!.

[red_death]

On the NHS point, I have sympathy with both frustrated patients and the people who work in the NHS.  Rather than blame them I would rather people didn't waste appointments by either not showing up or going to A&E for unnecessary reasons (though the latter is partly related to lack of adequate walk-in or GP centres available at times when people are not working which relates to Escafeld's point about lack of funding).

Cheers, Mike

[Bealman]

Luxury! My daughter just paid A$5000 to have her thyroid removed!