Donald Trump.

People don't like it when it's pointed at them The Truth always hurts

 

Jeremy Hunt admits NHS needs more money after facing calls to quit

 

Getting back to Tweety Pie, (aka Donald Trump ).My own personal opinion is that he should spend his time sorting the problems that face the USA, rather than shoving his nose into the problems that other countries have.

(This is the diplomatic version of what I really wanted to say!)

 

@shiney couldn't agree more
shame I was trying to find a GREAT post smiley but had to make do with this one

 

Maybe I am fortunate where I live but honestly cannot knock the NHS around these parts. Yes if you turn up at A and E with nothing worse than a splinter you will be made to wait but if you have a real emergency you'll be seen very quickly.
I thankfully got somewhat experimental replacement hips 12 and 14 years ago and was asked to return to have them checked for research purposes and for my own benefit every year which I have done religiously...least I can do with having been so very lucky to get such wonderful replacement joints.
The last time I got them checked I asked the nice nurse who I have sort of got to know over the years, if in her experience the NHS was in dire trouble as portrayed in the press yet again....@shiney. She replied that the trouble mainly is people's expectations! She said her department was flooded out with people who were wanting replacement this that and the next thing when it really wasn't necessary, yet people were demanding surgery and "want it now" If they got refused they then would demand a 2nd opinion or "I'm off to see my lawyer, this is age discrimination/racist /gender inequality" basically anything they could come up with. She also told me that the majority of people demanding operations had caused themselves problems by being vastly overweight and were not pleased when told that it was too dangerous to give them the surgery until they lost weight.
This is obviously only 1 person's view with regard to their Orthopedic department but she also told me her husband is an endocrinologist. He too is swamped with Diabetics the majority of which have caused the condition on themselves by their lifestyle choices but a very reluctant to take responsibility and expect the NHS to be a cure all.

Couldn't agree more @Sandy Ground. I have never been so relieved to get home from a visit to a friend who lived in Texas. My god it used to be called the wild west ( suppose not as it's south east), it pretty well still is where I was. I was genuinely scared a few times and vowed I would never go back. My friend has also left America with her American husband and settled back here.
Trump should concentrate on his own's country's many serious problems before sticking his noise where it is not wanted.

 

Isn't that part of our culture though?

 

@"M" quite correct. We dont need anyones help to do a bit of bashing.

 

I think Trump missed the point, regarding the NHS needing more funding and not working.

But my point was, where did he get his info.
If you believe what the news people tell us the NHS is pretty much on its knees, every night for over a month they have been banging on about how hospitals cant cope, so it's not surprising people from other countries feel they can stick the knife in also, especially when they are trying to avoid go down a similar road and creating something similar in their country.

The NHS is more than just Hospitals, it involves the whole of health care in the UK.

And I'm not seeing my doctors surgery totally run off its feet, in fact they seem to be doing less and less, which could point out why A&E are so full.

 

ahh, I just put a link up there. If I can find it, sure he can find it. LOL.

 

So who comes up with the headlines?

 

They are hoping that we do but do not assume that there isn't an ulterior motive behind it.

Is it though? Or, is there purchase in making Jo Public *think* so?

So ask yourself: why would they do that? What do they hope to gain from that? What impact could that have on *demand* for services? Would it make people think twice before going to A&E, for example? Would people make a more concerted effort to research their symptoms to ensure they are only using the services only when absolutely convinced they are required? By that same token, is there any realism in suggesting that the NHS could be over burdened by too many people reading online symptom checkers which may result in an over load of demand on the service?
If Jo Public believes all the above to be true, would certain sectors look for alternatives? For example, would there be any increase in people taking out private health insurance? Or, if from the poorer, older, sectors of the community, would they delay in seeking medical advice/intervention, unless they deemed it absolutely imperative?
If access to GP appointments were simpler, faster, would that alleviate any burdens on hospitals, or, would it increase demand?
If there were more "Cottage Hospitals", as in previous generations, would that alleviate the burden on core NHS provisions?
How about those from overseas who utilise the NHS and then neglect to pay for the services they received? Is the Admin., aspect of recouping those payments fit for purpose; or, are they so unfit for purpose that those debts go unpaid and the burden is thus transferred to the State e.g. the UK tax payer?

Ring fencing any raise in tax for the purpose of funding a more stabilised NSH service sounds great! Well, in principle it does Lest we forget that NI contributions were meant to have been ring-fenced for Pensions ... until that faded into obscurity and has led, in part, to a pensions deficit! Such could also be the case in some years down the line with any endorsement of a ring-fenced "tax" for the NHS!

Perhaps that is the whole point of the "spin" we hear every Winter: NHS at crisis point! Needs more funding!! No Government wants to be the one to hike up taxes; on the contrary, each Government is at pains to show they will *not*! It's a guaranteed vote loser
The dilemma being how to increase revenue without losing votes if raising taxes is seen as a no-go area? Ring fence a raise in NI contributions, perhaps?


Make your own judgement.

The basic fact still remains: funding needs to be given a thorough overhaul and put under the microscope - that won't happen all the while the spin masters pull on the heart sleeves and frighten Jo Public with scare mongering. Stop trying to guilt trip the masses, most of which comprise of the lower band of income, into agreeing to a rise in NI as the saviour of the NHS! While there most definitely is a compelling argument for doing so, there are other routes to be given thorough scrutiny. There is no one quick fix solution; there is a multifaceted approach to a form of "solution" although that would take time, effort and serious scrutiny! Who has the time, commitment, resources and longevity to do so?