Tuesday 18 August 2009

Protect the NHS

Lost is slightly disgusted about certain American Media Distributors(not so very fantastic Mr Fox), ganging up on the NHS, to show its citizens that if President Obama's healthcare reforms went through, that they would end up all waiting on lists for years on end and would probably die before they got surgery.

Daniel Hannan in his interview on dirtbag tv, agreed with the presenter Glenn Beck, commentating that a nationalised healthcare system would be detrimental to the US as it hasn't worked in the UK. Whilst I liked his rant at Gordo, I do not support him at all when he is attacking an institution that is central to the UK, and is one of the biggest employers in the world (outside the Chinese Red Army..)

Fox News also had this treat that the NHS panders to terrorists. (edit: oops this video is over two years old!)

Seriously? Where the fuck do they come up with such ridiculous ideas? How far will they go to make sure that their fellow countrymen (all 40 million of them) who do not have healthcare, cannot get at least some sort of basic service from Obama's health care reform?

I am not saying that everything within the NHS is fine and dandy, there are a multitude of problems, but I believe it is unacceptable to spout these pathetic lies about the NHS, for no good reason.

Glenn Beck said "I hope you become Prime Minister one day" to Daniel Hannan, well I sure for one f'ing hope that he doesn't.


8 comments:

Swiss Tony said...

I have full admiration for doctors and nurses, and still enjoy playing it from time to time, but do you really think that the NHS is working and is a good model to repeat?

Am I wrong, or is the dreaded MRSA virus prevalent in the NHS, but not in private hospitals? Are there long waiting lists? Do people die before getting operations?

There was a very good email doing the rounds a while ago which referred to having an injury, seen by a medical specialist within half an hour, treated, x-rayed and done within an hour. Only trouble was, it was a vets.

Only a year or 2 ago Swiss was admitted to hospital. Waited in A&E for an hour, seen by a nurse and then waited for an hour, waited outside xray for an hour, had an xray, put to bed, listened to Phillipino nurses chattering in Spanish all afternoon, saw a doctor the next day, waited another day to see if I had improved, sent home. Referred to a specialist in 1 year. Admittedly, no life and death in there, and some of those nurses were cracking, but the whole system is crap.

Or are you complaining about politicians lying?

The Uni Looney said...

The United Kingdom has a National Health Care system which ensures hundreds of thousands of people get some health care even if it is of a basic and slow quality. In the United States of America hundreds of thousands go without health care because they can’t financially afford it. I would rather have something than nothing.

As for the NHS it does have its flaws it does have its problems but this is how I see it. The NHS was set up when the population was a lot smaller medical science wasn’t as advance and there was nowhere near the funding in medicine as it gets now. So decades after it was establish we have a major population increase leaps in medical science and treatments with little major change.

I personally believe that the NHS is a vital part of Britain and that it does need change. I think we need to localize the NHS so it is adaptable to the needs of the local population in its area to tackle the major issues in the area.

I also believe that the NHS can’t be expected to cover all illness and treatments. I think that the NHS should have basic and clear core principles and that it should give everyone a universal right across the board. When people want experimental and costly procedures

I feel they should try and get funding outside the NHS for treatment. If you want a £500,000 experimental procedure that is 10% effective isn’t a good use of the NHS resources when that £500,000 could go towards children vaccinations.

I know it seems harsh in some situations but the primary goal of the NHS is to treat people with the government’s money not to use the government’s money to expand the borders of medical science that should be left to the Universities and other research institutions.
I agree lost Americas right wing does seem to be backwards but at the same time its good because if Obama release the trial and error the NHS has had then America could come out with a world class health care system.

I also see your point Swiss but maybe that’s to do with expectations and performance of the NHS rather than should we have one.

I think we should and glad we do no way my parents would of been able to of afforded this accident prone kid :P

Swiss Tony said...

Hey Uni, I have never seen you post before, and certainly not with such a clear and sensible view. Your year at Uni has certainly brought out the best of you.

I do think the NHS is essential, but it is mismanaged and rubbish. It should treat emergencies and essential illnesses. It should not be paying for IVF or educating people to not smoke, drink, or eat ham.

If you took what was good about the NHS, removed the rubbish, and paid doctors and nurses a decent wage you would, even in these times, have a world beating service.

Swiss

Minx said...

I Love the NHS.
It has taken care of me as a patient, and looked after me as a professional. It saved my mother from the very real possibility of a life ending stroke and manages my fathers many many illnesses without one hint of a whine moan or complaint.
There's no getting away from the fact that people treat the service like shit - there to abuse when drunk, or on drugs, or to squeeze and manipulate it for every last thing they can get out of it, without a hint of thanks, or of gratitude. I think such people should be shipped to the states forthwith; I'm quite sure that when faced with the realities of having to pay for healthcare, they would quickly stop moaning about the state of the health service.
I grant you that it is top heavy with managers - managers with degrees in health care economics who have stacked shelves in tescos for work experience and have no conception of the work of frontline staff; these are the people that need to be sacked/restructured/reduced in number. As a nurse, I tired of these people, pursuing their own agenda, feathering their own nests at everyone elses expense, doing as little work as humanly possible whilst expecting the superhuman from the staff they supposedly managed.
The fact is, we have come to expect too much from the poor old NHS - counsellor, tissue box holder, fixer up when things go wrong in the private sector ( MRSA is EVERYWHERE; the private sector is not immune; in fact its a pretty bloody big source of cross contamination) and its become a crutch, as well as a punching bag.
But for all its many and mannifest faults, I love it. I can think of no more wonderful, or humane concept than healthcare free at the point of entry for those who need it.
Its the abuse of the system that I cant and never will be able to handle.

Minx said...

PS: I worked in a ten bedded and extremely busy regional cardiac intensive care unit prior to switching to academia. This tiny little place had TWELVE managers - only two of whom had actual clinical input ( and one of those regularly tried to cry off his shift responsibilities)
Thats just over one and a bit throughly USELESS people per bed.
And people wonder why the health service costs so much money........

Lost said...

Minx very true words... over half of the NHS' budget is spent on salaries, if you got rid of all the middle management, I'm sure it could go on actual healthcare.

I understand that Drs and nurses are fed up of government intervention and setting targets for treatment but would rather be left to it..

Poor NHS!

Marjorie said...

Swiss, I don't think the arguament is that the NHS is perfect, simply that it is orders of magnitude better than the current system of healthcare in the USA which means than millions of people are without access to proper health care and that serious illness can (and very often does) lead to people losing everything (62% of personal bankruptcies in the US in 2007 were linked to medical costs, for example).

The NHS is not perfect - personally I would like to see a reduction in mangment, removal of the Public/Private 'partnerships' and a recognition that the NHS is not a profit-making vehicle and the hospitals should not be treated as businesses. It is, however, a hell of a lot better that the American alternative for the vast majority of people. It's telling that most of the people who argue against the US healthcare reforms are the one who don't need it - whether becasue they have the good fortunew to be in excellent health, or the good fortune to be sufficiently well paid to be able to afford high levels of insurance.

Kris said...

The issue for many people in the States is whether a federal system of health care is constitutional. What isn't an enumerated power granted to Congress is a matter for the individual states.

If Obama and the Democrat majority does manage to push the healthcare Bill through both Houses of Congress, I wonder if the Supreme Court might shoot it down as unconstitutional.

Obviously though, something needs to be done to make healthcare more accessable and affordable. I would suggest tort reform.

Stacks of cash are wasted in the States with doctors performing every test in the world as a safeguard against lawsuits where punitive damages are available and there is no "loser pays" costs as there is here. Most cases settle - insurance gets higher and higher and we all lose...