Covid and the NHS

[griff]

Went to visit my Mum in her care home yesterday, much as I do every couple of days. What I haven’t mentioned is that we were concerned for her as she contracted covid a couple of weeks ago. She tested negative after a week but was left frail with no appetite and was a bit confused. She’s made a full recovery now and is back to her best. Mum is 104 years old. So much for the good news.

Contrast this with my neighbour who died recently in his early seventies. Local hospitals saw more of him than his wife did over the last year and failed to find out what was wrong with him. He caught covid twice whilst in hospital. His step son came from the south coast for the funeral but his wife had to drive because he has long covid. My brother in law was diagnosed with heart failure this week and had to wait in A&E for hours in limbo yesterday waiting for admission before being sent home (!) because there was too much covid on the wards. He was given a prescription and told to see his doctor in three days. Good luck with that. My daughter in law is a discharge manager at a large hospital in the south west and reports that ambulances are still queuing outside for up to 24 hours.

It’s reported that the idiot Truss will be asking all government departments to cut back on spending. Your job is to tell me how the Health Department is going to manage this.

[Psaw]

Yes, lets put more zillions in. To no effect.

[_Stefan_Kuntz]

It's all about 'rolling the pitch', ministers explaining the policies of the government, presentation etc.
There is nothing wrong with the government's policies. The public is to blame for not understanding them.
That is the message which is assaulting our ears.

[griff]

It’s mainly a staff issue. Why are we teaching historians when we need doctors and nurses. Start by co-locating health and education then add immigration and get them planning together. Don’t spend more, spend better. At least come up with an area that might work Frank, you’re a socialist now.

[howoldboy]

The NHS is a total mess Griff.

Having avoided Covid for the best part of 3 years my wife and I have both tested positive this week.

Thankfully we have both had 4 Pfizer jabs but, despite this, the experience has still been decidedly unpleasant.

The Conservative government made a deliberate policy decision to remove all precautions, to stop mentioning Covid and to simply let it run its course. At the same time they stopped publishing daily hospital admissions and numbers of deaths in the hope that everyone would forget about it. The consequences are as you describe in your opening post.

Hancock and Johnson should already have been charged with murder/manslaughter for allowing hospitals to discharge Covid cases directly into Care Homes. Hopefully there are court cases pending.

Your mother has been very lucky. Tens of thousands of others, less so.

[_Stefan_Kuntz]

The UK has the 6th biggest economy of the entire planet.

Yet of the 230 countries the UK's Covid record is 202nd. That is 201 countries have had fewer deaths per million of population than the UK.

Do we ever see reporting of that in the media? No, we never see that. Whenever the disgraced Boris Johnson is mentioned a Conservative MP will repeat the well worn mantra of "Boris got the big calls right, vaccines, lockdown etc..." ad nauseam.

[Blackdogblue]

As LFT is no longer a mandatory requirement how on earth (not an Aliens debate) how can they publish figures is beyond me…

Glad your mum is now better Griff 👍

I (we) are very fortunate we both get full Bupa healthcare for the 4 of us (the kids are 16 & 22).. it’s not “free” as we pay tax on it but it’s like any insurance.. it’s there when you need it the most…

You cannot put a price on health and if we changed jobs & lost it I would still pay the insurance just in case

[howoldboy]

Hospitals still have the ability to test for Covid on admission and release of patients.

Similarly doctors still state cause of death on a death certificate (unless it is the Queen).

Therefore absolutely no difficulty in releasing daily figures for hospital admissions and deaths.

[howoldboy]

You cannot put a price on health and if we changed jobs & lost it I would still pay the insurance just in case

Companies like BUPA can and do place a price on health. They make a fortune from it.

Unfortunately many people cannot afford private care and that it is why it is essential to protect the NHS.

Similarly many people of working age with private health cover, lose that cover on retirement and quickly discover that as they reach the age when they really need the cover, the premiums become prohibitive and they are forced to return to the NHS.

There again, instead of the NHS, maybe we could adopt a Donald Trump style health system and just not bother treating those who can't afford it.

That would seem to fit perfectly with the values of Truss and her far right colleagues.

[Blackdogblue]

Hi mate,

On your first point, that is not a true reflection for statistical reporting, if they only test in hospitals etc.. that is not a true reflection on Covid statistics.

On the second point I agree… yes there is a cost associated with private healthcare and it’s like any insurance policy as I said, if you don’t need treatment then the money is gone. NHS waiting times for something we expect through our increased waiting times is free (not really as we pay for it via Taxes & NI payments)…

If I had the choice at 67 or whatever the retirement age is now, if I had a choice… between building insurance or healthcare what I would I choose / you choose?

Would rather the govt find me a place to stay than a long wait for treatment