N.H.S. views and experiences

[Jeffjones297]

It's worth remembering NHS employees, nurses ancillary professionals and drs too, are humans as well.
Strong, weak, wise and foolish in equal measures to the public.
I was a nurse for 34 yrs, we learned (or most of us did) to develop a confident, calm and expert manner, even when we didn't know what we were doing.
Most NHS staff, want to help you, want to do their best but circumstances, shortages, tiredness can sometimes intervene.
Mistakes are made, some horrendous and yes, there are a very small % of dangerous, malicious professionals but thankfully they're rare.

Mostly, it goes well, most of the time and the majority of people get the treatment they need. Across my career, I saw massive improvements in treatment regime's and improved levels of care across all illnesses. Illnesses that were poorly controlled and illnesses that debilitated people, are now managed to give a much improved quality of life than before.

But the NHS, is a sinking ship, it's being sunk by the weight of demands upon it. Not just from the sick but the myriad of modern lifestyle disorders, the overwhelming % of elderly patients with multiple conditions and of course an endless stream of freeloaders from abroad.

We need a debate on what the NHS is for, who and what it treats and who and what, should be treated some other way. We need to get back to what it was meant for, not the impossibility of treating everything, whether physical, mental, emotional, or imaginary.

[Kiwififer]

I work as a community MH worker and deal with the NHS on a daily basis at work, I’m also on the bank for an alcohol rehabilitation unit as well. There’s a hell of a lot of things that could be done to save money in the day to day running of the NHS, to give you an example, often patients get discharged to the alcohol unit with missing paperwork or medication, they have to send the missing stuff by taxi along to us from the other side of Edinburgh as the people discharged are Crackerjack patients (It’s Friday and it’s Five to Five for those a bit younger), it honestly rips my knitting. But this is all small stuff.


It boils down to this simple fact. You can’t have a Nordic health and social service run on American taxation. That’s the problem that nobody wants to face in this country, we all want world class services but are not willing to put hands in pockets to pay for it. We do a bit in Scotland, we have made higher earners pay a little bit more on income tax as we can adjust the bands up here, but it’s pissing in the wind as our pocket money from Westminster had been cut by around 20% this year. That’s our total budget btw, not just the health one…

[Arzosah]

I work as a community MH worker and deal with the NHS on a daily basis at work, I’m also on the bank for an alcohol rehabilitation unit as well. There’s a hell of a lot of things that could be done to save money in the day to day running of the NHS, to give you an example, often patients get discharged to the alcohol unit with missing paperwork or medication, they have to send the missing stuff by taxi along to us from the other side of Edinburgh as the people discharged are Crackerjack patients (It’s Friday and it’s Five to Five for those a bit younger), it honestly rips my knitting. But this is all small stuff.


It boils down to this simple fact. You can’t have a Nordic health and social service run on American taxation. That’s the problem that nobody wants to face in this country, we all want world class services but are not willing to put hands in pockets to pay for it. We do a bit in Scotland, we have made higher earners pay a little bit more on income tax as we can adjust the bands up here, but it’s pissing in the wind as our pocket money from Westminster had been cut by around 20% this year. That’s our total budget btw, not just the health one…

Kiwififer, thank you for both those examples - unnecessary systemic spend on taxis, and the central government 20% cut (blimey!). I can understand people pushing clients through the system because they know its what the patient needs, but there are costs associated with that obviously, one of which you've highlighted right there.

[Kiwififer]

There’s also this to contend with and I’m going to have to tip toe around this so please be kind mods!

There’s been a privatisation of services going on for years, it’s been salami slice after salami slice but it has been going on. American private health companies have been hoovering up contracts for running pharmaceutical services, ambulances and such like. In my side, Virgin were running children’s care homes in parts of England, this has been going on for years. Now I don’t know if folk have noticed the amount of Bupa adverts on telly just now, all nice happy music and smiling people but they are essentially adverts for private healthcare. They are all saying ‘yes you can see a GP today, isn’t that great!’ but neglect to say ‘it will only cost you £100’. This is no longer the thin wedge, it’s no longer hidden and it is in full view of everyone.

The next stage will be ‘Oh you don’t have private insurance? Well there’s a NHS hospital down the road but good luck being seen, the wait in A&E is 48h’.

As preppers what can we do? Absolutely nothing. Try and take care of our health as best we can I suppose and prepare for the end of the NHS which is free at the point of delivery.

[Arzosah]

As preppers what can we do? Absolutely nothing. Try and take care of our health as best we can I suppose and prepare for the end of the NHS which is free at the point of delivery.

That's becoming more and more important. I follow what's happening in my local NHS trust, and honestly, between infection rates and ward policies, I think a fair few people my age who go *into* hospital, just don't come out or only into care, especially single people like me.

[Kiwififer]

I should also say that I took no pleasure in writing my posts. I’m genuinely concerned for both the NHS and my side of the trench that is social care. Everyone clapped for us but if I was to ask my BMW driving neighbours to pay more taxes for us, I would guarantee they would all just look away.

Apologies for the rant as we are facing job cuts in Edinburgh.

[Arzosah]

I should also say that I took no pleasure in writing my posts. I’m genuinely concerned for both the NHS and my side of the trench that is social care.

Indeed. I just watched the first Putin v The West and it specifically references the 2012 opening event of the Olympics, and how proud we are of the NHS. Very, very concerned for it.

[diamond lil]

What you're saying is all true though Kiwififer, it's real, and we have to prep for reality but its not easy when it's health care going down the plughole is it

[Kiwififer]

What you're saying is all true though Kiwififer, it's real, and we have to prep for reality but its not easy when it's health care going down the plughole is it

That was the plan all along though (and I have to be careful here for the mods).

Starve the NHS of funds, run it into the ground and then stealthily insert private companies to run services within it. Trojan horses if you like.

Then start up private healthcare and insurance to run alongside it but not in direct competition at least not at first.

Then drop most services (dentistry for example) and only let folk access it through private insurance or pay over the odds to private companies.

The NHS would never be fully discarded but it will basically become an emergency service and nothing more. You can skip cues to see a GP already but it costs you £50 plus and then whatever you need ‘may’ be free but might not be depending on the need.

Grim but that is the direction the U.K. is heading in.

[diamond lil]

Well the ins and outs of political doings aren't the big thing for us here- our job is to find ways round them. Any ideas and "fixes" welcome - we've already had some good ones.