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.

Manuel.

when I first read ;

"Real name: cynic
Location: west of heathrow
Biography
an opinionated pain who neverthless refuses to take himself too seriously and rarely gets upset by acid retort from those whose feathers he has ruffled."


I thought you were developing some insight and there was hope for you.

I am sorry, but if so, you seem very slow at doing so.


Keep on "trying".

You are good at it!

It,

Never tried it.

How does feel when you stopped taking it.

jimmy - for all sorts of pretty obvious reasons, which fred would never admit to understanding let alone accepting, an open-door policy is a recipe for disaster

i know that almost sweeps the very real problem under the carpet, but i do not pretend to know the answer

I don't read any of Fred's posts he's not open minded enough for me . I might not like Labour but i can also say that Cameron has got several things wrong as well ..

Just learnt, the new Neo-cons' policy, is that in order to balance up the problem in the immigration problem, we can advertise in Bejing for a couple of millions "holiday" makers to migrate to the Thames Valley for holidays.

And as long as their pockets are full, or they have bought up London, we won't send them home.

Happy days are here again.

JB.

I am trying to bring a little balance to this thread!


8-)

Ps, after leaving my teens I have frequently moved to the left of the neo-cons.

i'll second that jimmy

i'ld like to understand better the arguments for and against the tax credit cuts, or how they might sensibly be softened so that the thrust and logic of the cuts (with which i agree) is not lost, but (perhaps) so that fewer lose out undeservedly



with regards to nhs and junior doctors, i have heard several conflicting arguments from a number of consultants and similar ...... however, all agree that the amount of paperwork now required is preposterous and also that there are far too many o'paid administrators who do little other than protect their empires

this morning i had an interesting chat regarding (as it happens) having a chloresterol test, merely as a self-check rather than because a doctor has told me that i should have one
with huge difficulty and much argument, i managed to get one done at my local surgery ...... the only alternative would have been to go to a private clinic that would have charged £100 or more
i would have been more than happy to have paid my surgery £5/10 or whatever which would have helped their cashflow and profitability and also added to my medical history without the need to waste a doctor's appt
our surgery already asks patients (over a certain age?) to carry out blood pressure tests on a gadget in the reception area, and that is certainly a step in the right direction, though far from commonplace i believe

Manuel,


"however, all agree that the amount of paperwork now required is preposterous and also that there are far too many o'paid administrators who do little other than protect their empires"


Do you mean the administrators are treading on the hallowed ground which the medics thought was theirs?
-=-=-=-=

If you had the ability to do the "cholesterol" test, could you interpret the results? If so would you instruct the chemist to prescribe what you think appropriate and rely on your own management?

If not, if necessary, how would you administer other related conditions and provide those services.

Also, in your condition who would you have to repeatedly explain what was happening to you.


Also, how much would the simple "blood sampling machine cost" against the size of practice.



==-==-=-=-=

I was surprised how much the machinery (Xrays machines etc.) and other equipment cost a smallish well equipped dental practice. (About £1.5+ million) Also, on top was staff and premises costs.

Made me think a little.

cholesterol test
i probably didn't word it very clearly
in its current form, nhs does not pay surgeries for preventative measures, either in medicine or dentistry
thus, for cholesterol, a surgery will only take the simple blood sample required and send it away for analysis if
(a) the patient has had a doc's appt
(b) the doc then recommends a test, after which
(c) you have to make another appt with the surgery nurse and then
(d) a follow-up appt with the doc .....

that's an awful lot of work when it would be simpler to have an initial (and "contribution" required if afforded) nurse's appt for a blood test and a recall only if the tests come up with something of concern - NOT if all is well

I wouldn't bother your going to die anyway ,just have another fry up and a fag ...

i just want to ensure that fred will never benefit from any iht on my estate

as my dad said, persuading me not to smoke - of course he and my mother did - was one of the best things he ever did for me

Manuel,

Again misinformed.

GPs, in general, do get paid for preventive medicine.

I.E. Hypertensive, diabetic, elderly clinics etc. and targets.

(Arguments over their benefits are different.)

The reason for a patient (almost wrote idiot) requesting a test is sometimes as important as the test.

Naive acceptance of result of without background knowledge of the patient or their history is more than problematic, it is idiotic, unless you enquiring as to the number idiots are out there.

It is beneficial to have the facilities and those with some background in medicine, or medical sciences to make sensible conclusion, as to whether it is the appropriate "test" or would other investigations and follow-up is appropriate.

=-==

Requesting the "test" is an opener! In your case to see a friendly Psych.

Ps, You may not have smoked but I guess you have spent enough time in bars inhaling the exhalations of those around you to raise the possibility of lumps and bumps.

Ask for a chest X-ray when next see the quack, whoever the poor bugger is!

English votes for English MPs has passed a vote in the Commons.

Are the present bunch of neo-cons attempting to fragment the UK and its infrastructures?

They are f. mad.

They are a bunch of over grown school boys.

-===-=-==

No one with Talk talk on here is there? read this if you are http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34611857

What is wrong with English votes for English matters?

The Jocks, Taffs and Paddy's seem to like their own say...why not the English?

British support for staying in the European Union has tumbled over the past four months as an influx of migrants into Europe has pushed many voters towards opting for an exit, the Ipsos MORI pollster said on Thursday.

Prime Minister David Cameron is seeking to renegotiate relations with the bloc it joined in 1973 ahead of a referendum on membership by the end of 2017.

In one of the starkest illustrations to date of how the migrant crisis may be polarising British views of Europe, an Ipsos MORI poll showed 52 percent of Britons would vote to stay in the EU, down from a record 61 percent in June.

Support for a British exit rose to 39 percent, the highest level since 2012, up from 27 percent in June. That more than halves the "in" lead to 13 percentage points from 34 points in June.

"We know that immigration has been the big issue over the summer and that has been partly driven by all the stories about migration from Syria and other places into Europe and the refugee crisis," Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos MORI, said by telephone.

"This is part of what is driving this," he added.

Cameron has said that he wants to argue for Britain to stay inside the EU if he gets the changes he wants from other European leaders.

But British public opinion on Europe is volatile: In 2012, Ipsos polling showed more Britons wanted to leave than stay. That has since switched around but polling shows immigration is now voters' top concern.

A British exit would shake the Union to its core, ripping away its second largest economy and one of its top two military powers.

Pro-Europeans warn an exit from the EU would hurt Britain's economy and could trigger the break-up of the United Kingdom by prompting another Scottish independence vote, while opponents of EU membership say Britain would prosper outside.

Over half of Britons said they could be persuaded to change their mind about membership.

Until Cameron has a deal, his government is refusing to back either the domestic "in" or "out" campaigns which launched over the past few weeks.

The most popular of Cameron's proposed changes include bringing powers back to Britain, restricting free movement of labour and cutting benefits for EU migrants.

Just 37 percent of voters are confident he will secure a good deal, Ipsos said.

A majority of Britons now favour leaving the European Union amid concerns over immigration, according to an opinion poll.

The survey, by polling firm Survation for the Mail on Sunday, found that if a referendum was held tomorrow 51% would vote to quit the EU against 49% who would vote to remain.

The findings contrast with a previous comparable poll carried out in July which gave the "in" camp a 54% to 46% advantage.

The survey is likely to set alarm bells ringing in Downing Street ahead of David Cameron's promised referendum, which is due to take place by the end of 2017.

Britain is edging towards the EU exit door, according to the latest poll that shows the UK's future membership of the 28-state bloc is too close to call.

The ICM poll - the first since the referendum question was changed two weeks ago to make it less biased - gives the 'In' campaign just a 3-per-cent lead over those who want to leave, down from a much larger margin of 11 per cent before the change.

It comes after a poll earlier this week showed the 'Out' camp in the lead by 51 per cent to 49 per cent - the first time a majority of British voters have backed leaving the EU.

It shows 17 per cent of people are undecided and with a number of influential public figures yet to say which side they would be campaigning on - including the new Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and London Mayor Boris Johnson, the referendum could easily swing either way.