NHS problems etc

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  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Yeah they’re the stats the Economist were referring to in the OP
    _
  • masjer
    masjer Posts: 2,655
    A cycling related tale about broken Britain and ambulance waiting times.

    Whist on a cycle path today, I came across a cyclist who somehow managed to have a slow speed uphill crash into the verge. He was sitting upright with his legs akimbo either side of the front wheel, but screaming in agony. He said something cracked in his back and he couldn’t move. He could move his arms and legs. I’m no medic, but personally I didn’t think he seemed too bad and even laughed at a couple of my cr’ppy jokes.

    The hospital is only about a mile away… 999… ambulance…damn, waiting time between 3 and 8 hours and for him not to move. It was already starting to get dark.

    Only one other person passed by. She cleverly volunteered to fetch a blanket and never returned.
    Luckily for him (and me), after about an hour, the cavalry arrived, well a ‘fast’ responder who managed to drive his car up the cycle path. He said no ambulance was coming and wanted to move the injured party. The (injured) guy was about 18 stone. I volunteered to help lift him up, but the responder declined and said he’d need mountain rescue for the ‘extraction’.
    He administered painkillers and settled down for a long wait. I said my goodbyes and made my exit.

    Maybe I’ll start taking a flask, blanky and sandwiches on my rides, just in case.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    That makes me feel better for riding back home when I broke my shoulder.

    I got a stern telling off from the dr.
    _
  • TheBigBean
    TheBigBean Posts: 21,914
    rick_chasey said:

    That makes me feel better for riding back home when I broke my shoulder.

    I got a stern telling off from the dr.

    What did they think you should have done?
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    TheBigBean said:

    rick_chasey said:

    That makes me feel better for riding back home when I broke my shoulder.

    I got a stern telling off from the dr.

    What did they think you should have done?
    Get a lift or ambulance.

    My thinking was the bike was the fastest way home by far
    _
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 27,325
    edited March 2023
    rick_chasey said:

    TheBigBean said:

    rick_chasey said:

    That makes me feel better for riding back home when I broke my shoulder.

    I got a stern telling off from the dr.

    What did they think you should have done?
    Get a lift or ambulance.

    My thinking was the bike was the fastest way home by far
    Aided by adrenaline no doubt. Not quite the same level but when I broke my collarbone the pain didn't really come in until I was long home.
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • TheBigBean
    TheBigBean Posts: 21,914
    rick_chasey said:

    TheBigBean said:

    rick_chasey said:

    That makes me feel better for riding back home when I broke my shoulder.

    I got a stern telling off from the dr.

    What did they think you should have done?
    Get a lift or ambulance.

    My thinking was the bike was the fastest way home by far
    This reminds me of doctors asking "have you had it iced and elevated" when you've been sitting in their waiting room for hours.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    edited March 2023
    pblakeney said:

    rick_chasey said:

    TheBigBean said:

    rick_chasey said:

    That makes me feel better for riding back home when I broke my shoulder.

    I got a stern telling off from the dr.

    What did they think you should have done?
    Get a lift or ambulance.

    My thinking was the bike was the fastest way home by far
    Aided by adrenaline no doubt. Not quite the same level but when I broke my collarbone the pain didn't really come in until I was long home.
    Yeah it was pretty painful on the final run in. Setting off from the lights was tricky.

    In hindsight the movement I shouldn’t do is put my arm out in front of me and I have to do so to hold on to the handlebars. So I was lucky I didn’t hit one of the copious potholes and have the fractured piece of bone dislodged as that would have required surgery.

    Anyway, the lack of ambulance availability definitely crossed my mine as I swung my leg back over on my bike and the various car drivers who witnessed asked if I wanted an ambulance.

    I guess that’s the false economy of health isn’t it? Relying on luck not to worsen the injury and put an additional burden with surgery.
    _
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 27,325
    Tbh I was more concerned by the cuts and grazes at the time.
    I just wanted to get them cleaned up. The collarbone came later.
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • airwise
    airwise Posts: 248
    The NHS will not survive this generation.
  • secretsam
    secretsam Posts: 5,120
    Worth noting that there isn't a health system in the world that doesn't have issues...staffing, costs, coverage, access, affordability, infrastructure, etc.
    It's just a hill. Get over it.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    airwise said:

    The NHS will not survive this generation.

    What, the oldies? (because they're old, not because of anything else)
    _
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,151
    So it seems like there's a compromise pay deal. What a surprise and what a waste of time.
  • TheBigBean
    TheBigBean Posts: 21,914
    kingstongraham said:

    So it seems like there's a compromise pay deal. What a surprise and what a waste of time.

    Everyone needs to do the dance first. Pointlessly predictable, but necessary to reach compromise.
  • pangolin
    pangolin Posts: 6,648
    All that for 5%??

    Was my reaction
    - Genesis Croix de Fer
    - Dolan Tuono
  • N0bodyOfTheGoat
    N0bodyOfTheGoat Posts: 6,057
    edited March 2023
    pangolin said:

    All that for 5%??

    Was my reaction

    Plus ~£1600+ lump sum I think.

    Will be interesting to see what the union members make of it, this practice of lump sums which don't carry forward into future years is becoming worryingly common for a number of professions.
    ================
    2020 Voodoo Marasa
    2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
    2016 Voodoo Wazoo
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,151
    N0bodyOfTheGoat said:

    pangolin said:

    All that for 5%??

    Was my reaction

    Plus ~£1600+ lump sum I think.
    They must be hoping that the employees don't do the calculation of what that then means the real increase in wages will be when the one off bonus disappears.
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 27,325
    N0bodyOfTheGoat said:

    pangolin said:

    All that for 5%??

    Was my reaction

    Plus ~£1600+ lump sum I think.

    Will be interesting to see what the union members make of it, this practice of lump sums which don't carry forward into future years is becoming worryingly common for a number of professions.
    I doubt they will accept it for that very reason.
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • pangolin
    pangolin Posts: 6,648
    I remember listening to someone on R4 a while back saying the gov should offer them a lump sum to handle this year of high inflation, then a more modest % rise next year when inflation hopefully settles down.

    Do people really not understand inflation?
    - Genesis Croix de Fer
    - Dolan Tuono
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,463
    kingstongraham said:

    N0bodyOfTheGoat said:

    pangolin said:

    All that for 5%??

    Was my reaction

    Plus ~£1600+ lump sum I think.
    They must be hoping that the employees don't do the calculation of what that then means the real increase in wages will be when the one off bonus disappears.
    Classic short-term financial thinking. Is it just a one off bonus or is it a £1600 lump sum added to the base salary?
  • pangolin
    pangolin Posts: 6,648
    Pross said:

    kingstongraham said:

    N0bodyOfTheGoat said:

    pangolin said:

    All that for 5%??

    Was my reaction

    Plus ~£1600+ lump sum I think.
    They must be hoping that the employees don't do the calculation of what that then means the real increase in wages will be when the one off bonus disappears.
    Classic short-term financial thinking. Is it just a one off bonus or is it a £1600 lump sum added to the base salary?
    One off
    - Genesis Croix de Fer
    - Dolan Tuono
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 27,325
    pangolin said:

    I remember listening to someone on R4 a while back saying the gov should offer them a lump sum to handle this year of high inflation, then a more modest % rise next year when inflation hopefully settles down.

    Do people really not understand inflation?

    I really don't think that they do.
    Some people seem to think prices will drop when inflation falls to 5%.
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • N0bodyOfTheGoat
    N0bodyOfTheGoat Posts: 6,057
    edited March 2023
    BBC have just said Unite have now rejected the offer and so won't put it to their members to vote on.

    But website says union don't recommend the offer to their members who can vote on offer.
    ================
    2020 Voodoo Marasa
    2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
    2016 Voodoo Wazoo
  • pangolin
    pangolin Posts: 6,648
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-64977269

    Unite has said it cannot recommend it to members, but it will put it out to vote.
    - Genesis Croix de Fer
    - Dolan Tuono
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,151
    It's got another strike next year written all over it, hasn't it? If you are concerned about wages already dropping behind the cost of living, accepting a pay rise 5% below inflation isn't going to butter the parsnips.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    edited August 2023
    Reading an article on America's terrible life expectancies; didn't expect to read this.

    Americans are catching up with, or even leaping ahead of, people in other rich countries. Cancer-survival rates in America are the highest in the world. Of sufferers of prostate cancer, in America 98% survive for at least ten years. In Britain the figure is only 78%. Access to health care has improved greatly.


    (article basically argues it's not the healthcare system that is the problem; it's the guns and drugs).
    _
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,463
    rick_chasey said:

    Reading an article on America's terrible life expectancies; didn't expect to read this.


    Americans are catching up with, or even leaping ahead of, people in other rich countries. Cancer-survival rates in America are the highest in the world. Of sufferers of prostate cancer, in America 98% survive for at least ten years. In Britain the figure is only 78%. Access to health care has improved greatly.


    (article basically argues it's not the healthcare system that is the problem; it's the guns and drugs).
    Is there not a risk that due to their system the poorest in society are simply not even getting diagnosed and are therefore missing from the stats?
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    edited August 2023
    Pross said:

    rick_chasey said:

    Reading an article on America's terrible life expectancies; didn't expect to read this.


    Americans are catching up with, or even leaping ahead of, people in other rich countries. Cancer-survival rates in America are the highest in the world. Of sufferers of prostate cancer, in America 98% survive for at least ten years. In Britain the figure is only 78%. Access to health care has improved greatly.


    (article basically argues it's not the healthcare system that is the problem; it's the guns and drugs).
    Is there not a risk that due to their system the poorest in society are simply not even getting diagnosed and are therefore missing from the stats?
    I don't think so no. Obamacare fills in an awful lot of gaps.
    _

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