Current Affairs

[Kendhni]

No need at all for trying to demean an opinion by throwing insults but I agree entirely with the second part of Ken's post.

I assume you are talking about my first sentence ... if you had heard one of those thugs being interviewed on radio this morning you would know exactly what I meant ... barely literate and all he had was the old 'well such and such did it first". Why the reporter even gave the sub-zero IQ individual time is beyond me.

[Mervyn and Trish]

You could give Bojo lessons in wriggling.

[oldbluefox]

Completely astonishing that anyone would draw an equivalence between Partygate and Starmer at the CPS.

That sort of counter argument only belongs in a children's playground ... and even then responsible adults would tell them off for being so silly.

Happy to clarify, but I think you know exactly what I was referring to. Trying to counter an argument by throwing out insults doesn't add anything to the debate.

[Manoverboard]

Nor to the overall harmony of the site ...

[Bensham33]

Sad to hear this morning that the wonderful Bamber Gascoigne has past way. University Challenge was never the same after he left. RIP Bamber.

https://news-sky-com.cdn.ampproject.org ... 7-12536142

[Mervyn and Trish]

Yes real shame. I've not heard of him for so long I was bit surprised he was still with us until now.

[Kendhni]

Completely astonishing that anyone would draw an equivalence between Partygate and Starmer at the CPS.

That sort of counter argument only belongs in a children's playground ... and even then responsible adults would tell them off for being so silly.

Happy to clarify, but I think you know exactly what I was referring to. Trying to counter an argument by throwing out insults doesn't add anything to the debate.

Having now taken the time to read back through the posts I think I see what you are referring to ... but irrespective my point still holds ... but was aimed at the illiterate thug being interviewed on radio this morning using pathetic infantile and irrelevant arguments.

[Stephen]

Sad to hear this morning that the wonderful Bamber Gascoigne has past way. University Challenge was never the same after he left. RIP Bamber.

https://news-sky-com.cdn.ampproject.org ... 7-12536142

I thought he popped off ages ago.

I remember him well from my yoof.

[Onelife]

A name you instantly recognise if you’re in my age bracket.

[Mervyn and Trish]

You recognise Prince Albert if you're in my age bracket. Just saying.....

[Kendhni]

Following 2 years of pandemic it is obvious the NHS is in a bigger mess than normal. There are a couple of things that I think could be done to improve turnaround times and get it going again
1. introduce fines for missed appointments
2. introduce a co-pay element within certain departments

[oldbluefox]

3. Eliminate some administrative jobs. More indians fewer chiefs.
4. Make administration more efficient. Sometimes I get three letters advising me of the same appointment.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Does Macron's statement that Putin has promised no escalation in Ukraine sound horribly like Chamberlain's piece of paper - Peace in our Time?

[Kendhni]

3. Eliminate some administrative jobs. More indians fewer chiefs.
4. Make administration more efficient. Sometimes I get three letters advising me of the same appointment.

While I would 100% agree, past history seems to suggest that the way the NHS is structured defies any attempt at reducing red tape ... in fact when they try they just seem to create more red tape.

As far as 'More indians fewer chiefs.' I thought we were supposed to be cutting back on immigration

[david63]

Following 2 years of pandemic it is obvious the NHS is in a bigger mess than normal. There are a couple of things that I think could be done to improve turnaround times and get it going again
1. introduce fines for missed appointments
2. introduce a co-pay element within certain departments

So we have a "plan" which the NHS Providers think is workable. We have a "plan" that the RCS thinks is workable. We have a "plan" that the Labour Party thinks is inadequate.

It is time that the NHS was taken out of politics.

[Mervyn and Trish]

I'd agree. There should be a cross party long term plan instead of changing course at every election. But as the predictable Labour reaction shows it'll never happen. All parties prefer it as a political football.

[towny44]

I had a recent interesting experience when I had a hearing test before having hearing aids supplied. My GP sent the usual request for a hearing test, and the audiology dept confirmed receipt and said they would be in touch. Which they did fairly promptly by text message offering me an appointment at 8:30 am the following day, immediately followed by a another text cancelling this because it was too short notice, then a week or so later I received another text with a sensible date. I assumed this had been a one off glitch.
As it happened when I attended this appointment I had an ear infection which meant they could not do the test, so I was delayed whilst the infection was cured. Obviously not the NHS fault.
So about 5 weeks later the process was repeated starting with my GPs request. To my surprise exactly the same following day text appointment was followed up with the same cancellation. The delay again was only short and a new appoinment was made for christmas eve, and I left the clinic with hearing aids as an early xmas present.
As a cynic I can only assume that this process is intended to show a fast response for appointments, which are presumably monitored, but the whole process was slick anyway so if most others in our area receive the same service, our audiology dept really has no need for this subterfuge.

[Stephen]

Don’t talk to me about appointments.

I don’t know why they bother sending them out as they keep changing them every five minutes. I get one then a couple of weeks later they change it, and not for a week or two later but three months.

It’s ok for them to mess you about but if you turn up late or not at all your inclined to be referred back to your GP, and rightly so. But where’s the redress for the patient when they’re messed about. Bl**dy none that’s what.


Rant over.

[Kendhni]

Following 2 years of pandemic it is obvious the NHS is in a bigger mess than normal. There are a couple of things that I think could be done to improve turnaround times and get it going again
1. introduce fines for missed appointments
2. introduce a co-pay element within certain departments

So we have a "plan" which the NHS Providers think is workable. We have a "plan" that the RCS thinks is workable. We have a "plan" that the Labour Party thinks is inadequate.

It is time that the NHS was taken out of politics.

While it is better to have some sort of plan rather than nothing at all, I think that what has been presented is far too vague. It seems that a random date has been plucked out of the air but no real concept of how to meet the target for that date. I think the real measure will be progress based on pre-pandemic numbers and waiting lists. The fact that any government body thinks something is 'workable' generally makes me concerned that they have set the bar far too low.

Rightly or wrongly, there is no way that the NHS can be taken out of politics, not without complete privatisation (something I think very few, in the UK, would want). The NHS is an inherent part of the overall benefits/tax system within the UK ... something that many seem to forget when it comes to comparisons with other countries.

To me the biggest problem with the NHS has always been that it is 'free' at point-of-service ... when you give people something for nothing then they place little or no value upon that and it ends up getting abused.

[Mervyn and Trish]

When I worked for the NHS one of our nurses went to Sweden to study their system. It was interesting in that it was like ours state funded, but there were modest fees associated with each appointment. Something like £5 for a GP appointment and £15 for A&E. The fees were small enough not to bar anyone who genuinely needed treatment but sufficient to virtually eliminate missed appointments and abuse of the system. No drunks turning up for hangover cures for example.

My only concern with appointments is that mine often come by post within two weeks of the due date. No issue if I'm here but a problem if I'm on holiday when they arrive and I get home to find I've missed one.

[Kendhni]

Last year the good lady received a letter telling her she was being removed from the waiting list because she had not turned up for her appointment. She got straight on the phone to say that she had never received an appointment. At the first the secretary tried arguing with her, but in the end did make a new appointment for her. This duly arrived in the post a couple of days later.

The following week her original appointment arrived in the post - the post mark said it had been posted 2 days earlier. She mentioned this to the secretary when she went for the new appointment. The secretary admitted there had been an issue and a batch of appointments had not gone out and had been clogging up the system blocking other appointment letters. Technology, who would have it ... give me a quill, parchment and carrier pigeon any day.

[david63]

My only concern with appointments is that mine often come by post within two weeks of the due date.

Do you not use NHS Patient Portal?

Brilliant service - appointments arrive on your phone around 17:30 on the day they are sent out. I had a telephone appointment with my consultant last week the outcome of which was that I needed a further face to face appointment and it arrived on my phone that evening. Also by using this method you have to accept the appointment so they know that you should be attending the appointment.

[Mervyn and Trish]

My only concern with appointments is that mine often come by post within two weeks of the due date.

Do you not use NHS Patient Portal?

Brilliant service - appointments arrive on your phone around 17:30 on the day they are sent out. I had a telephone appointment with my consultant last week the outcome of which was that I needed a further face to face appointment and it arrived on my phone that evening. Also by using this method you have to accept the appointment so they know that you should be attending the appointment.

I don't but thanks I'll have a look at that.

[Stephen]

Me too.

As for contacting anyone at the hospital such as the secretary. Hopeless

I love listening to an answer message saying ‘I’m on holiday’ or ‘ring this or that number or leave a message’ that no bu99er has any intention of replying to. And is it me or are the NHS only working part time these days, because that’s how it comes across at times when you try and contact some departments.

[oldbluefox]

I have the NHS portal and can now view my test results which saves me having to phone the surgery, "you are number 19 in the queue" and then having to prise the results out of them.
The convenience of being able to order prescriptions via the app is really handy.