The NHS vs Richard Branson.
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Ah, leave me to it, we all get curmudgeonly when old.
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I think one big difference between my age and those born later is that it was almost a requirement to attend university, and when I did finally go it cost about £1300 a year (which I was basically able to pay back with my part time job at the time).
All in with loans, I think I owe about £8k. I think my sister born in ‘93 currently owes about £40k.
Also when we moved out and bought our first place together, it was £190k for a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom spacious flat. These days the same place is about £380k.
The last 10 years have not been kind for those leaving uni and finding their place in the world, but as hard as it seemed in 2009/2010, it’s nothing like now. -
My beloved thread has been destroyed by cunts, which according to the OED is anyone born after 1980.
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monkey wrote:Mainstream media use it differently from academics and they all use it differently over time. When I was in my teens, all young people were gen Xers. And we were all lazy cynical twats apparently (fair in my case). Millennial hasn’t come into popular consciousness until probably post 2008 by my vague reckoning. Now they’re all lazy twats with iPhones. It’s going to differ depending on your wealth, how quickly your country adopted certain trends and stuff. And they’ll necessarily redefine it as traits and trends start to emerge and become detectable. It’s hard to be precise is the main point I’m trying to get over in this ramble.
I define by my own arbitrary standards because official ones don't exist. X is Billy Idol dancing by himself with Madonna, and I'm a good bit younger; Millennial includes today's teenagers, and I'm a good bit older. Hence I call myself Y. And oh, Y.
[edit]
Ooh, Tempy...
Tempy wrote:I'd go with a hazy 85-05 myself because I think people between 35 and 30 are just as likely to face the same issues as those who are currently 18.
I agree that those of us who aren't established are in the same boat in our 30s as those hitting 20, but the difference is that we had the last of the summer wine at their age. We saw the end of free degrees and all that, so a current 30-something could belong to either category, and I think that deserves a political distinction if not social. If things had gone differently for us, we could've been homeowners now. -
SpaceGazelle wrote:Or the best idea Britain ever had vs a cunt. Who will win?
The Bransons of this world have already won, it's just people are only just beginning to notice.
I had to admit someone to hospital this morning (something we're currently under a lot of pressure not to do, as if we really have any choice). I phoned the hospital and spoke to the medic on-call:
"Yeah, no argument. He needs to be here. I'm just not sure where to put him."
"The beds are full?"
"Mate, we don't even have any cupboards to put him in. We've got 30 people waiting to come in as it is."
This is at one of the hospitals that is traditionally regarded as coping well compared to its peers. At this moment, my guy's either still parked up in an ambulance, or sat on a trolley in a corridor somewhere. Meanwhile, some bits of the country have tasked GPs with filling in for the ambulance service because it can't cope. (I'm not in one of those regions, but have done 8 home visits as well as my usual surgery already this morning. I have an extra 12 emergency patients booked into clinic today in addition to my usual surgery...)
Winter aside, I can no longer refer you for an operation if you smoke or are obese (BMI > 30) unless it's an emergency.
The emergency Out Of Hours GP Service is dangerously under-staffed because the Government insisted on investing in a separate extended out of hours GP service for people who want routine appointments that fit around work - so the GPs that used to deal with emergency OOH, have all moved over to the new service that pays more, and involves seeing entirely healthy, middle class people who fancied a "health check" but didn't want to take any time out of their working lives to do it.
The Health Service is on its knees, yet we're actively investing in additional services for the healthy and wealthy. It's a fucking mess (and/or all going according to plan, depending on whether you favour conspiracy or cock-up as the underlying cause.) -
Which do you favour tin?tin_robot wrote:
The Bransons of this world have already won, it's just people are only just beginning to notice. I had to admit someone to hospital this morning (something we're currently under a lot of pressure not to do, as if we really have any choice). I phoned the hospital and spoke to the medic on-call: "Yeah, no argument. He needs to be here. I'm just not sure where to put him." "The beds are full?" "Mate, we don't even have any cupboards to put him in. We've got 30 people waiting to come in as it is." This is at one of the hospitals that is traditionally regarded as coping well compared to its peers. At this moment, my guy's either still parked up in an ambulance, or sat on a trolley in a corridor somewhere. Meanwhile, some bits of the country have tasked GPs with filling in for the ambulance service because it can't cope. (I'm not in one of those regions, but have done 8 home visits as well as my usual surgery already this morning. I have an extra 12 emergency patients booked into clinic today in addition to my usual surgery...) Winter aside, I can no longer refer you for an operation if you smoke or are obese (BMI > 30) unless it's an emergency. The emergency Out Of Hours GP Service is dangerously under-staffed because the Government insisted on investing in a separate extended out of hours GP service for people who want routine appointments that fit around work - so the GPs that used to deal with emergency OOH, have all moved over to the new service that pays more, and involves seeing entirely healthy, middle class people who fancied a "health check" but didn't want to take any time out of their working lives to do it. The Health Service is on its knees, yet we're actively investing in additional services for the healthy and wealthy. It's a fucking mess (and/or all going according to plan, depending on whether you favour conspiracy or cock-up as the underlying cause.)SpaceGazelle wrote:Or the best idea Britain ever had vs a cunt. Who will win? -
We had an 18 ambulance tail back a few hours ago. Boxing day period was 25 at one point. -
I keep thinking this thread title would make a great Manic's song title.
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monkey wrote:
Which do you favour tin?tin_robot wrote:stuff... depending on whether you favour conspiracy or cock-up as the underlying cause.)
Bit of both really. There are definitely those who would like the NHS, not just to fall over, but to be seen to fail. Hunt's anti-NHS credentials are well documented for instance. On a more global scale it feels like there was a step up in anti-NHS rhetoric around the time that Obama first started suggesting the US adopt a similar system, and part of me wonders whether this helped trigger a more concerted effort.
There are others who are so in love with the notion of market forces driving efficiency that they're incapable of seeing why such arguments not only don't apply to healthcare, but are actively dangerous.
There are also, however, a lot of people paid buckets of money to comment on, advise, and manage health in the UK that simply don't understand it, and hence have no idea what they're doing. (For the most part I'm not talking about "NHS Managers" who, in my experience are good people working very hard to achieve something entirely impossible whilst being slagged off by everyone. Rather, external management consultants who are invariably drafted in to "solve" the afore mentioned unsolvable problem at vast expense, and have absolutely no clue whatsoever.)
The system itself makes it all incredibly difficult to manage, or change. Managers find themselves buffeted about by the Government's latest fads (usually inspired by the same said "consultants"), which are often contradictory, utterly ill suited, and shift on an almost daily basis. There are all sorts of rules and regulations which make innovation, of even simple logical changes, difficult - unless of course your plan comes with a ministerial seal of approval, at which point they magically get ignored. Meanwhile, no-one with any power dares to say the basic truth - that there's not enough money, and they either need to tax, or formally ration - because it's career suicide. Certainly when I worked in the CCG there was a lot of pressure to "remain corporate" which basically meant - "don't point out that everything's fucked". -
What he said.Gamertag: gremill -
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/health/jeremy-hunts-guide-to-surviving-the-nhs-20180104141678
Jeremy Hunt’s guide to surviving the NHS
04-01-18
HELLO. I’m Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary who’s put more funding into the NHS than any other hero, before or since.
Going to hospital? That’s your right as a British citizen, until further notice, but before you step past the smokers at the doors you should know what the risks are.
The NHS is currently going through a period of transition, from the state-funded service we love and cherish to something more exciting and American run with the thrilling efficiency of Virgin Trains and Virgin Broadband.
Pack a bag full of essential items, including toiletries, nightwear, a full set of sterile surgical instruments and anything you deem necessary for self-defence.
Beat the queues to book in at reception by distributing bribes; pasties for fellow patients, amphetamines for junior doctors and graphite-shafted golf clubs for consultants. You only get one chance to make a first impresssion!
What’s better or more comfortable than your own bed? Nothing, so do make sure to take it with you. If you forget and end up without a bed don’t come crying to us.
Before your operation the surgeon will visit you, although this may be a student nurse or hospital cleaner depending on availability. Explain exactly which organs have gone manky and where you want to be sliced open. Remember your left and right and their left and right are different.
Take something to read. This will pass the time while you’re waiting and will give you something to focus on if the theatre is suffering a temporary shortage of anaesthetists.
Following a major operation don’t be afraid to ask nurses to help with pain management. Both bathtub gin and sticks to bite on are available and competitively priced.
If you hear a klaxon, evacuate your room immediately. It is needed by a private patient.
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