Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

NHS ‘at breaking point’ despite promises of increased spending
Healthcare faces £30bn deficit by 2020 and patients suffering, warns coalition of doctors, nurses and medical charities

The Guardian, Monday 6 October 2014



Political promises of extra cash for the NHS are insufficient to address a funding crisis that is putting at risk the founding principles of the health service, an influential coalition of doctors, nurses and medical charities has warned.

The Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats have all made protecting health funding a priority in their party conference pitches to voters as the issue takes centre stage ahead of May’s general election.

But, in an open letter to the leaders of all three parties published by the Independent, leading organisations said “the longest, and most damaging budget squeeze” in NHS history had left it at “breaking point”, with patients increasingly feeling the effects.

Health spending has been protected from the austerity cuts imposed across most of the rest of Whitehall but had not risen sufficiently to prevent the hospitals and surgeries “buckling under the twin crises of rising demand and flatlining budgets”, they wrote.

The letter was signed by the heads of the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Nursing, the Royal College of GPs and four other royal colleges, the Alzheimer’s Society, the Anthony Nolan Trust, the MS Society, the Royal National Institute of Blind People, the Teenage Cancer Trust, the Family Doctor Association and the Faculty of Public Health.

They cautioned: “Savings have been made, and despite the best efforts of nurses, doctors and other staff, patients have not been insulated from these cuts. Too many staff feel undervalued and demoralised when all they want is to be able to care for patients.

“A shortage of GPs means that patients are struggling to get an appointment to see their doctor. Pressures on maternity services mean that many women are not getting the high quality care they deserve.”

Accident and emergency unit targets were being missed – in some cases for an entire year – patients faced “unacceptable” waits for cancer diagnoses, and patients requiring emergency mental health support were being moved to hospitals hundreds of miles away from home.

Social care shortfalls meant dementia sufferers “have been cut adrift, reliant on unpaid and unsupported carers to live from day to day” and problems were being stored up for the future by a failure to invest properly in children and young people’s physical and mental health, they suggested.

“The NHS and our social care services are at breaking point and things cannot go on like this. An NHS deficit of £30bn is predicted by 2020 – a funding black hole that must be filled.

“While we welcome the fact that the NHS has risen to the top of the political agenda, and some new spending commitments have been made, we need a comprehensive, fully costed, long-term spending plan if an NHS true to its founding principles of universal healthcare, provided according to need not ability to pay, is secured for future generations.

“It must also take into account the need for vital social care. This will also require a guarantee that the NHS will be protected from another top-down reorganisation which is not in the best interests of patients, and distracts from the severe, long-term funding pressures facing the health service.

“The NHS, social services, health and care professionals and above all, the British people, deserve no less.”

Makes you want to Immigrate somewhere don't it.

The NHS does, but I think the Mansion tax is fair and Ill be paying it.

leaving aside as to how the value will actually be determined, if this suggested tax is implemented, it is patently unfair if levied in the same manner as stamp duty

The mansion tax is an idea which those North of London have been saying should have been implemented years ago.

I agree.

Why The Tories Want To Ban Zero Hour Contracts … And It’s Got Nothing To Do With Workplace Rights
Posted on October 3, 2014 by johnny void



Cameron’s conference pledge to scrap exclusive zero hour contracts – which prevent employees from working for anyone else – is not some sign that he actually gives a shit about the poorest and most exploited workers.

The real reason for the ban is to make those workers poorer and even more exploited when Universal Credit is finally introduced (stop laughing) and the DWP start inflicting benefit sanctions on people working part time.

For a long time now, DWP ministers have been panicking about how Universal Credit and increased benefit conditionality can possibly work alongside zero-hours contracts. Should Universal Credit ever actually be introduced then part time workers will face the same kind of Jobcentre harassment currently reserved for unemployed or sick and disabled people. People working part time could even face being sent on workfare in the hours they aren’t at work, whilst they will be required to take on additional jobs at the drop of a hat or their Housing Benefit could be sanctioned leaving them homeless.

These nasty new rules will place anyone working part time on an exclusive zero hour contract in an impossible situation. If they don’t take up an additional job when the Jobcentre tells them to they will lose their in-work benefits. If they do, they will get sacked from their other job. This is why the Tories want to scrap these kinds of zero hour contracts. So the DWP can start sanctioning part time worker’s benefits.

The truth is that the Tories love zero hour contracts so much that the Minister for Welfare Reform Lord Fraud has suggested people should have more than one. All they want is a little bit of re-jigging so that Iain Duncan Smith’s latest crazy scheme can go ahead as planned. The end result will mean more insecurity for the lowest paid workers, with the DWP already boasting to bosses that Universal Credit will make it easier to sack staff. And those who fail to meet endless petty Jobcentre conditions will find themselves sanctioned and unable to pay the rent.

Of course simply saying they are going to ban exclusive zero hour contracts is only half the battle, and it is one the Tories are likely to lose. Even the suggestion reveals breath-taking ignorance of how business works. Iain Duncan Smith and Lord Fraud may dream of low paid workers scurrying from one job to the next desperate to avoid the attention of sanction happy Jobcentre busy-bodies. But if they really think that Tesco will let their part time staff go work at ASDA in their spare time then they are living in a fuc---- dream world

I wonder what pearls of wisdom I am missing from gf.

You'd need a secretary to keep up.Haystack.

I can imagine!

Hays stop kidding everyone we know you havent I and Fred on filter.

That was plain to see at the weekend when you slipped up at least 3 times.

Victim,

If you wait long enough, you will think you immigrated!

============

Manuel,

I think Cameron spouting about the number of doctors and Medical workers rising are a disingenuous manipulation of figures.

Try and find out the number of hours worked by doctors now compared with 5-10-20 years ago.

Ask your daughter-in-law how many of her colleagues are part timers.

=========

The value of property is partially due to past and present "weighting" or "loading" of salary and allowances in London.

That made the London more "attractive" and pumped up the prices. But was aided by distribution of many "governmental organisations" and their pay systems.

The Daily Mail found 63% of the public recognised Ed correctly but 80% recognised Wallace.

Conservatives try to become the party of the North East – Unemployed in Tyne and Wear 6/10/2014

Here’s something unintendedly humorous, flagged up by Unemployed in Tyne and Wear from an article in yesterday’s (October 5) Newcastle Evening Chronicle:

Is there a General Election on the horizon or something ? The Tories are getting all concerned about the North East.

Growing the economy in the North of England and closing the wealth divide with London and the south east was one of the major themes of the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham… The focus may seem surprising given that the party has few MPs in the North East.

The Chancellor’s plan is to turn the North into an economic powerhouse rivalling London by investing up to £15 billion on local transport links, picking a scientific speciality for universities to become world-leaders in, possibly building a high speed line across the Pennines, linking the North East and North West, and giving cities more autonomy and cash – if they agree to transform local government by introducing directly-elected mayors.

Major announcements at the conference included plans to freeze working-age benefits – including benefits received by working people on low salaries – for two years. This means cutting benefits in real terms, because of the effects of inflation.

Conservative leader David Cameron, in his conference speech, announced plans to raise the income tax personal allowance to £12,500. This would take one million more workers out of income tax entirely and give a tax cut to 30 million more, Mr Cameron said. An estimated 51,000 North East workers would pay no income tax at all because of the change. Many others would pay less tax. Isn’t this because wages are so poor to start with ?

Mr Cameron also announced plans to raise the threshold at which people pay the 40p income tax rate from £41,900 today to £50,000. It means a tax cut for many people earning above-average salaries. Mr Cameron said the 40p tax was supposed to be for the rich, but it’s currently paid by some senior nurses, teachers and police officers.

But critics pointed out that the Conservatives had failed to explain how they would pay the £7 billion cost of cutting tax.

Labour Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls said: “Nobody will be fooled by pie in the sky promises of tax cuts in six years’ time when David Cameron cannot tell us where the money is coming from.

“Even the Tories admit this is an unfunded commitment of over £7 billion, so how will they pay for it? Will they raise VAT on families and pensioners again?”

TANKER you about....?

“Even the Tories admit this is an unfunded commitment of over £7 billion, so how will they pay for it? Will they raise VAT on families and pensioners again?”

Ed was always a breast of women’s issues.

Every 6 months (approx) I have a 'prescriptions review' with my GP. Indeed, I cannot get my repeat prescription until I've had the review so it is held out of necessity on both mine and my doctor's part.

However, this doesn't change the fact, that there can be other things that medically go wrong with me and for which I need to seek medical advice. But the doctor goes a bit potty if I try to discuss such other things with him on what should be a 'prescription review' appointment. He says, "I have a limited amount of time so you need to make another appointment for that."

Sometimes, topics discussed in the prescription review overlap problems experienced which need a separate appointment. eg. Is recent stomach pain being caused by the prescription pills? etc.,etc.

Some of the prescription review topics require blood tests. The doctor doesn't take blood samples. One has to make another appointment to go to the practice to see the triarge nurse or the phlebotomist. Then another appointment is needed to discuss the results.

And then there are other miscellaneous things which require a visit to the practice, such as a 'Flu Jab' or a 'Shingles Jab'.

Naturally, you can see immediately how I might attempt to try to cut down on the number of visits I have to go on. Can one thing be done at the same time as the other thing? One has to balance such attempts with the Receptionist, who has doctors and nurses on holiday and the other phone ringing away with someone else's requirements.

Oooops! I forgot to tell you that exactly the same thing scenario is applicable to my wife.

Each individual trip we do and is taken by car and takes about 45mins plus 'waiting room time'. Poor Mr and Mrs ExecLine. Poor Doctor. Poor Receptionist. Poor Nurse.

Yes. They do need a much better appointments system and much better thought out methods of dealing with routine patient requirements. However, nothing much has altered at my doctor's surgery (which is actually a very good one) from my point of view as a patient during the last 12 years or so whilst we've been visiting. And during that time, I'm certain sure, that lots of extra reporting and extra workloads have been foisted on doctors and practices. Just such a thing as a new computer system or new computer software presents a truly massive problem for them.

For lots of this 'patient-doctor' stuff, there has to be 'better way than the face to face way' - perhaps by using Skype, by telephone or by self monitoring but with change there is always resistance to it and fear from involvement with it. And so the NHS systems which are funded by the never ending purse of the State are doomed to merely continue wasting time and loads of money.

I think it is a difficult and possibly intractable problem. The doctor has a window for appointments. He must expect a manageable average time for each person. He can only keep to his schedule by trying to restrict each person to what they came in for. A partial solution would be for you to ask for a longer appointment at the time of booking the check up. We have had to do this for my mother in law and it works quite well. The receptionist then allows for this and books slightly fewer patients.

Exec,

What your post exemplifies is the lack of thought in some areas of medicine and its practice.

Especially, in general practice and other areas of assessment of problems.

But above all is there is forgetting of the goal of the NHS and those practicing it it.

Also, if instead of repeated follow up appointments the considered the problems before them and tried to make a definitive diagnosis, or at least one to act upon, investigating appropriately (even referral) at the first, second or third review their work load would diminish.

The problem the buck sometimes doesn't stop with the first doctor seeing the problem, but the locum or part timer who is rota when the next appointments are made. (Lack of ongoing responsibility, but still picking up the fees.)

This is not true of all practices, but is true of too many.

Ps. It also need doctors to utilise and relate to "allied" staff appropriately.

About 6 years ago I had a sort of MOT at the hospital. I don't go to the doctor much and I thought some tests might be in order. My doctor did some of them and referred me to a hospital for the rest. The system was called 'drop in'. I had a document that let me attend the hospital whenever I wished for the blood tests, xrays etc.

That sounds pretty good for the patient. It was a system that Labour brought in. A good idea you may think. Now here is the problem. Because it is drop in, the department is staffed in case someone does drop in similar to a cafe. When I arrived there were three staff sitting there reading the papers and making phone calls. I asked if this was normal. They said it was like that most of the day except at the very start of the day for a short while, lunch time and some times at the end of the day. People were arriving at convenient times to them and the department was staffed all the time. At lunch time there was a considerable queue as most people came then and had to wait a long time.

Anyone looking at this would try and even out the peaks and troughs. One way would to hand out appointments evenly spaced. I believe many hospitals have reverted to this now.

PS.
Doctors, are not bound to a 10min (or other) appointment and if they have a medical problem difficult to evaluate and taking time they can tell the other buggers to wait a bit longer.

If it is a "psychological problem" needing time, they can make a longer appointment at an appropriate time, or refer to others who are more competent in that area.

General practice needs a review.