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.

So glad you are feeling better RF. A nightmare of a problem you have there. Ever thought of flicking channels?
I am preparing my swat team for zika carrying mosquitos which is the latest plague threatening to turn us all into pin heads. If you go by what you read. Seems to me that zika has been here for quite a while going by some of the posts I read.

RF

Only thinks there are still 4 channels, bbc1,bbc2, ITV1 and the new one channel 4

jimmy b

That program is on 2nite at 8pm , posh pawn C4 boxing memorabilia

Thanks aldwickk i'll have a look .

jimmy b

That was £2,000 thrown away., I didn't know about the biometric stamp

No neither did i know about that. Not something i would want anyway.

EU starting to slowly fall apart......

Newspaper round-up

Other EU leaders are ready to copy David Cameron's referendum tactics for their own "egotistic goals", the European Council president has said, as he sounded the alarm over populist politics bringing the bloc to the brink of "suicide". Donald Tusk's forthright warning on Wednesday came as he announced he was clearing his diary next week to concentrate on the "very fragile" talks on a "new settlement" for Britain, which will be discussed at an EU summit next week. - Financial Times

en passant, even the guradian was unimpressed by JC at yesterday's PMQ
here's the opening lines ....
Labour leader, wearing a cheeky badge, was best when he allowed himself to sound angry but PM was effective by engaging properly with questions

JUNIOR DOCTORS
this whole thing looks totally crazy to me ..... even the consultants are supporting these doctors
how can it be so goddamn difficult to sort out a contract that is a bit bitter for both parties?
sure the NHS is effectively unaffordable in its present guise, but to make medicine in uk such an unappetising prospect has to be without any logic that i can perceive

I dont know about the rights or wrongs of the junior doctors case but I do know the NHS is unsustainable as it is. Everyone expects more. More pay, more modern equipment, better working conditions, against a population that now appears to be rising exponentially. Something has to give.

Don't worry iturama we will be out of the EU soon ,then we won't be the International health service any more.

That is part of the problem. Most countries in the EU have a payer scheme. Pay or go elsewhere. Doctors surgerys are being bypassed, particularly by migrants, and they go direct to A&E. No need to be on doctors lists etc, apart from the inevitable wait for an appointment. Add to that the non EU lot that find it cheaper to buy a ticket and use the NHS instead of paying at home.
I still can't fathom out why it is so difficult to have national identity cards when much of europe has. Probably no political will.

all sorts of excuses as to why it would be difficult to collect cash at the door for those who don't qualify for free ....... can't see it myself as any private clinic does it

and yes, i do actually accept that real emergency care should be free to anyone

Emergency care is always given in most countries without asking. But not necessarily free. You get the bill after you have been treated. If your care plan covers it, the insurer pays. Otherwise it is your responsibility. In the case of the NHS, clearly legal residents will be be covered. The problem at the moment is identifying who is legal. The onus should be on the patient to show they are entitled.
It is not difficult to collect cash at the door. It just has to become standard procedure.

can't disagree with any of the above, though how you collect "after the event" is another matter ...... perhaps you re-break the leg!

That is one option, or water board.
The debt is like any other. Most people carry credit cards It appears on your credit report and can be collected in the same way in the case of default.
In the case of indigents the debt may need to be written off. That happens occasionally with conventional debt.

some foreign visitor gets run over by a bus ...... goes into hospital; gets leg set and has to stay there for say a couple of days ..... all set to go and bill is about £3,500 (sounds about right and may be a bit low) ..... he has no credit cards on him ...... now what?

for myself, i rarely carry cards, so not particularly unusual

That is probably low. A standard day-stay key surgery, say a knee arthroscopy, costs about that. Without the prior consultation cost.
If the person can't pay, so be it. Just tattoo the debt on his or her forehead.
Some debt will have to be written off. Like everything else, it is easier to go for the low hanging fruit. Those with assets. Better than nothing at all.

Then do what France does. They take passport details and address and then send bills to you. I damaged my ankle once inFrance and then they kept sending me bills. I ignored them and eventually they gave up. It is similar to parking tickets in France and Italy where I have them and ignored them.