Warning Over Future Sustainability Of The Nhs

[lfc84]

I bet this gets less comment and less media coverage than a bendy bus.

 

 

People need to sort out their priorities and make it known that the NHS should not be privatised or face cuts

 

 

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 16:17

 

 

The government plans to examine how the NHS is operated as the state-funded health service faces tough challenges.

Despite getting a budget increase of £3.2m this year, the Health Minister is warning of the mounting pressures on his Department.

These include growing demand for health care, increasing inflation and developments such as new drugs and treatments.

David Anderson says that 'grasping the nettle' of the funding pressures and looking at the sustainability of the health service is something we can’t shy away from.

He say the level of charges, funding models, and the scope of some services may all need to be reviewed

[asitis]

Just imagine what the millions frittered away in the past fifteen years could have done for our NHS service !

[Non-Believer]

Sadly, like far too many IoM Govt. departments, they want to start by looking at some of the waste, incompetence and misappropriation and misuse of funds and resources as well as possibly looking at the necessity for some of the tiers of "management" that have established, doubtless getting full-time salaries for part-time hours. That should save them a bit for starters

[Tourettes]

We can all shout as much as we like, when the GOV have got a way of making "taking" more money of us they will just go ahead with it.

You have only got to look at the last couple of months with the UNI fees , waste charges, increase in road tax and Tesco tax.

[wrighty]

I think that the days of a fully funded, fully comprehensive public health service are numbered. I'm glad the minister has started talking about this, as the debate needs to be had.

 

In the UK the health service is being rationed by stealth. Need a hip replacement? In some UK PCTs if your BMI is over 30 (and that really is not that fat!) you can't have one until you lose the weight.

 

We need an open debate about what a publicly funded health service should provide, rather than emotive responses about never cutting health funding and instead not repairing roads or whatever. The UK is eventually going to have to go down this route. Why can't we lead the way for once, rather than just copy what they do?

 

Usual disclaimer - anything I post here regarding health is my own opinion, and not necessarily that of hospital management, DoH or government.

[WTF]

I think that the days of a fully funded, fully comprehensive public health service are numbered. I'm glad the minister has started talking about this, as the debate needs to be had.

 

In the UK the health service is being rationed by stealth. Need a hip replacement? In some UK PCTs if your BMI is over 30 (and that really is not that fat!) you can't have one until you lose the weight.

 

We need an open debate about what a publicly funded health service should provide, rather than emotive responses about never cutting health funding and instead not repairing roads or whatever. The UK is eventually going to have to go down this route. Why can't we lead the way for once, rather than just copy what they do?

 

Usual disclaimer - anything I post here regarding health is my own opinion, and not necessarily that of hospital management, DoH or government.

 

as i've mentioned before, the stuff medical science can now do and the expense of said treatments and procedures makes what can be done, far too expensive to do it for everyone. years ago if you contracted X, Y or Z, or sustained certain injuries, you'd be dead. now they can keep you going at great expense to every one else. i would guess that few people actually pay enough NI contributions to cover the cost of their medical care and treatment over their lifetime. there is that insurance add on TV for travel insurance that shows the alleged cost of things and they give you a bill at the end for 16k or something like. that is the cost of a broken something. need an organ transplant or some other complicated surgical procedure and in most cases you'll never cover the costs if you pay tax and NI for a 100 years. medical skills may be fantastic, but the cost is too much. once we passed the leeches and ground root stage we were fooked

[Donald Trumps]

This announcement is probably regarded by CoMin as some form of 'consultation' with the public

 

Anyway, we can regard it as an attempt by David 'The Beast' Anderson to soft-pedal his forthcoming assault on the provision of health care to the plebs

[lfc84]

I didn't vote for a policy of health service cuts, so imo he doesnt have a mandate. This is an example of why the current system is flawed. you never quite know what you are voting for.

 

as i say, the health service should be protected from cuts. but, people are going to get more bothered about bendy buses and peel road. people need to get their priorities in order and be vocal about what's more important. just because people may drive along peel road twice a day or drive in traffic behind a bus doesnt imo mean that they are more important than a health service which may only be used tens of times in a lifetime. you'l only miss it when its gone and now is the time to state its importance

[ballaughbiker]

I bet NHS dentistry is the first service to go. Their 'salaried' service appears to be barely limping along although the minister reckons he's got plans to sort this. His reassuring message explaining the appointment of three locums and other permanent staff to follow sounds promising if taken at face value.

[EORH]

The holdups in treatment in the NHS seems to be shortage of staff,plus a bigger population which has been allowed to grow,just look at the doctors surgeries,now it's a 2 week wait to see a GP,unless you ring up early in the morning and see if there are any cancellations.

When you go to Nobles to have say a blood test,there is a notice board which lists each month the number of people who fail to turn up for appointments in many treatment departments,this must be part of the cause of so many on waiting lists and can't get appointments.

It is the old syndrome of the over populated goldfish bowl,so what is the answer,fining people who don't turn up without a provable excuse?.

The Minister must know how much this is costing,and is not sustainable with the shortfall in government income,so what is going to suffer further cuts?.

[Max Power]

The NHS will go the way of pensions I think, you will get a basic level of care but more and more treatments will require you to take out private medical insurance to cover them.

This would need to be implemented when people are at a young stage in their life, hardly fair to ask someone in their fifties with an existing medical condition to try and get insurance.

Either this or we double our NI payments?

[Donald Trumps]

It's absolutely atrocious how CoMin under Mr Bell is delivering assault after assault on established social benefits without any sort of proper electoral mandate to do so

 

By fiddling with them he should know that people aren't going to accept the obligations that are the norm & he's going to wind up flat on his arse

[Lost Login]

I have posted many times that being a modern wellfare state with all that implies with regard to health, education and social services does not equate to being a low tax jusrisdiction. Certainly at least for personal tax. The costs of providing one do not equate with the income of the other.

 

Now it appears that rather than accept this, Teare and Bell are trying to run an experiment to prove that theory is incorrect and everytime it is shown not to be they cut and cut more.

 

I accept cuts are needed to get rid of waste etc but that will not not solve the equation. Teare and Bell appear to believe that low personnal taxes and tax capping for the wealthy are sacrosant which means that ultimatly more services well be either charged for or totally removed.

 

To me this is a fudamental issue. Do we want low personnal taxes in return for the reduction or charging for many services, for example health care may follow the American pay/insurance model. Or are we prepared to have our taxes raised, accept the risk that a few might leave but retain a modern wellfare system

 

Bell and Teare without any mandate appear to be aiming for the former at present. Now that may be what people want but it should not happen by stealth

[Donald Trumps]

Good post Lost Login

 

To me it is absolutely unacceptable that CoMin introduce this irresponsible & socially destructive agenda without the common consent of the electorate

 

They must take a great deal more notice of the social mood - people are quite capable of making the right decisions in difficult circumstances

 

Much, much more public consultation please Mr Bell!

[manxy]

I've said my personal opinion many times before, too many 'leaders' and not enough workers.

 

Amalgamate some departmental heads and only have the one computer system (that doesn't seize up).

Cut back on the Senior staff and excessive paperwork. Use laptops/notebooks to record peoples temperature, blood pressure etc, instead of more paperwork.

Bar code the medical band that people wear on their wrists, bar code their medical documents and have a bar code scanner at the exit/entrances to wards, so that staff know as to where the patients are at any one time.

Adapt handheld PDA's to include medical information about a patient for use by Doctors/consultants etc