As far as callous acts by the government in the name of austerity goes, this would be lucky to break the top 50.

davyK wrote:

So what is the legal system going to do if over 75s don't pay their licence fee?

My mate's mother is 90 and terminally ill and is worried about the licence. He has told her not to pay it. What the feck are they going to do about it?

Removing that tiny benefit to old people is one of most ludicrous and callous things I've ever heard of.

They can't do a single thing about it.

Yossarian wrote:

As far as callous acts by the government in the name of austerity goes, this would be lucky to break the top 50.

I know this is probably true, but the TV license one is so real to many old folks that I think it's fucking awful. There was an article of some 90+ old dear shitting it because her license was being taken away. Fuck me if we can't give TV to old dears for free. I know this is a strange one to tip me over the edge, but I'd protest over this.

What is sad is that age group will pay it even if they can be convinced nothing will happen.
They will pay Auntie while freezing with the heating off.

The ebola outbreak in Central Africa has finally been declared a global health emergency. Hopefully it will be handled better than the last one.

The recent hatchet job on Corbyn via that 'Panaroma' special was certainly a nadir for the BBC

The BBC is NHS-tier is how I think it should be protected. It's not perfect, aye, but there's few better outlets bigger or better than it, and it's far more than just a news outlet, as Kaz says.

Minnesänger wrote:

The BBC is NHS-tier is how I think it should be protected. It's not perfect, aye, but there's few better outlets bigger or better than it, and it's far more than just a news outlet, as Kaz says.

The NHS is an absolute shambles apparently, from what the missus tells me. She's high up in the organisation and wouldn't be surprised if it crumbles in the next five/ten years.

Kinda like the BBC tbf

Wtf

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/18/dead-suspected-arson-attack-kyoto-animation-japan

Like what?

Sounds familiar

monkey wrote:

Like what?

Off the top of my head:

1. The NHS is being asked to cover more stuff

The number of treatments covered by the NHS is expanding and expanding, so even though more money is being spent on the NHS than ever before (and yes, that includes the time under the current government), it's being stretched thinner and thinner. In addition, the costs of new medicines and equipment is going up and up - newer medicines and technologies are far more expensive than before, even with the collective NHS bargaining power. Increases in funding can't cover this alone.

2. Privatisation. 

Many parts of the NHS, including some parts that were pretty efficient and even, gasp!, profitable, have been spun off into the private sector in order to "relieve" pressure on the NHS. This is not a Tory thing - this started under the Blair government. The real-world effect of this is that the NHS now has to pay for-profit companies to provide a service it already had before. 

3. An ageing population.

We're getting older. Sure, life expectancy growths have slowed, but I think people massively underestimate the cost of an ageing population on the NHS. Every year that people live longer, the care requirements increase. Hip replacements, diabetes, heart transplants, strokes, you name it. And, of course, every extra year a person lives, the higher and higher the risk of cancer becomes. It's not a steady increase, once people live into their 50s and 60s, cancer rates SHOOT up.

4. Council cuts.

Councils used to cover a lot of home care, especially for the elderly. Many of these services are being cut, so of course the NHS is now bearing the brunt of this. The same goes for people with mental health issues and those with physical disabilities. 

5. Increased standards.

Anti-biotic resistant super bugs means it is getting harder and harder to provide safe care to patients. More people than ever are requiring beds.  The NHS has been missing A&E response times for years now - I think the last time they met the standard 4 hour wait time in A&E was the early or mid-2010s. 

6. Staffing issues. 

Staff are over worked. Junior doctors are unhappy. High-quality experiences GPs and Administrative staff are retiring early because of the mountain of bullshit. External issues such as Brexit won't make this easier.

7. Overworked and over-full waiting rooms due to the fact that a lot of the UK population are fat, lazy, alcoholic fucks.

I'm a fat, alcoholic, chain-smoking asthmatic fuck so feel free to dismiss this as hypocrisy (although i've cost the NHS nothing in the last 15 years). A&E departments in major cities (especially at night and at weekends) are overstretched due to unnecessary self-harm on the part of the local population. Alcohol poisoning, obesity, liver disease etc. - these are all avoidable but hey "I pay for it, I deserve treatment" etc. If the UK wants to keep the NHS it needs to get healthier. That's the hard truth. We can throw more money at it, but if we keep wasting that money on avoidable treatments then eventually we'll hit a point where we can't keep funding it. 

8. Stagnant economic growth. 

A while back in the 1950s or 60s or whatever, total spending on the NHS was around 10-12% of the national public services budget. Today it's more than 30%. That worked when the economy was growing and people weren't living too long, but now a stagnant economy (and lack of rise in wages, which hits NI contributions) along with an ageing economy means the NHS is getting fucked. That's reality. We can throw more money at it, but that's delaying some very necessary and difficult discussions. 

9. Free at all points, for everyone.

Some countries, such as France, run a hybrid insurance+national health service model. Basically, the aim is to avoid wasted time and money by the state. The all-encompassing freeness of the NHS is a red line to many people. I understand that. I support that. But, in reality, it may kill the NHS.

10. Bureaucracy and mismanagement. 

Nuff said.

Now, that doesn't mean the NHS isn't underfunded - it's certainly not as well funded in comparison to total GDP as some of it's European counterparts, but it's not just a money problem. There's a lot going on, and we can delay some hard conversations by increasing funding today, but it'll just push back the inevitable. 

DISCLAIMER: It's entirely possible i'm talking out of my arse and that someone far more knowledgeable on the subject, such as Tin, has a far better grasp on it than I. This is just info i've gleaned from watching the NHS carefully and talking to people I know who are involved in the NHS. Plus, you know, books and stuff.

Yas!

Minnesänger wrote:

Yas!

The VM won't have access to my harem fyi

Kazuo wrote:

The value for money people get from a license fee is actually obscene.

I tell you what is obscene, forcing the elderly to pay a license fee just so Norton, Lineker, et al can get paid their 'market rate'.

Culturally entwined? You mean like Dr Who? That turned shit years ago.

O'Neil, Marr, Robinson - they're all Tory boys who make a mockery of the BBC's reputation for impartiality. The corporation itself is running scared, for years now, over further reforms to its budget by a Conservative government and henceforth is bent on being it's mouthpiece.

For the sake of balance, let's have a Panorama show on the rampant Islamaphobia in the Tory party. No?, thought not.