macabethiel
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2008
- Messages
- 4,412
Another Ted rant
You are right about who will pay - when we bailed out the banks - it's the Government that pay - then we pay them back with increases in direct & indirect taxation.
A good friend of mine who has done very well for himself has money spread over different banks so his deposits were secure as they were within the guaranteed limits if a bank crashes. He had a wad of money in one of the Icelandic Banks - not only did he get his deposit cash refunded by HMG but he also got the bloody interest !!
As for the Government response even with Airports etc locked down sooner the reality is you only need one person to be infected to spread the virus country wide.
There will have been the usual lorry loads and boat loads of illegal immigrants plus the possibility that the virus can be picked up within a short time frame from objects imported from other countries handled by a person who is at the infection stage of the process. The USA shut down flights pretty quickly but it soon started to spread to NY and other states.
The NHS is a Behemoth without top grade industrial type management - successive governments have thrown money into the never ending capacity of need so it always wanting and getting more money with diminishing return. The NHS will never have enough money due to medical progress.
We find better ways to treat cancers & all other types of illnesses as fast as one type of Scanner or Radiation Treatment is developed a new one pops up later. Just look at the shambles of Government IT systems that have cost billions and failed. The levels of waste within the NHS are eye popping and occur on many levels.
Had the NHS been a Private Company providing medical services to the paying public it would have gone bankrupt long ago. It's a fact that some of the NHS troubles go right back to its inception when Hospital Consultants were allowed to have their own contracts they are employed by the NHS and can do foreigners on the side (Private Practice) in that deal. That said it is also the envy of the world but few countries will admit it.
I love our NHS they have saved my life more than once - good management is definitely hampered by the grip of the likes of UNISON & BMA. As regards Consultants I have an analogy.
When I worked in the Motor Trade selling Mercedes Cars there was a waiting list at various times for desirable models. One in particular was the Mercedes 350 SE a new model back in 1973 the waiting list for a customer order was about 9 months. If I said to the customer you don't need to wait 9 months I have one at my home that you can buy next week if you visit me at home - my Boss would sack me for trading from home.
An NHS Consultant can do just that he can say well the waiting list for a New Hip is say 12-14 weeks but come and see me at The Nuffield Hospital and I can do it this Friday - that is the cosy situation that Consultants currently enjoy. Without advertising they have a ready made list of NHS patients / customers that they can operate on for extra money. We allowed NHS Consultants to do just that. Most Private Hospitals employ NHS Consultants on a part time basis. This cosy set up should have been banned decades ago but no Government Labour or Conservative has addressed it as the BMA would threaten to strike.
The private sector do not train Registrars or Consultants we the tax payer do that and let the Consultants Moonlight. I'm not anti trade union or against private health care but they should bear the real cost if they are not training staff.
It's my view NHS is far from run down that I think is UNion & Political Dogma - if we want the NHS to do & have more we should I think look for a drastic solution.
Take it completely out of Political Control, have it funded by direct taxation so that when you look at your PAYE Pay Slip or Pension Statement there is a figure that says NHS Tax "x" %. I do not know what this "x" figure is but as the NHS is the biggest single employer in the UK I'm guessing its significant.
Tax payers might not be so keen to give the NHS yet more money without seeing & getting value in return. Often we seem to just get more middle management in the NHS with its inverse pyramid structure when we inject more cash. A truly self funded private sector could then be compared to the NHS on an equal financial footing.
You are right about who will pay - when we bailed out the banks - it's the Government that pay - then we pay them back with increases in direct & indirect taxation.
A good friend of mine who has done very well for himself has money spread over different banks so his deposits were secure as they were within the guaranteed limits if a bank crashes. He had a wad of money in one of the Icelandic Banks - not only did he get his deposit cash refunded by HMG but he also got the bloody interest !!
As for the Government response even with Airports etc locked down sooner the reality is you only need one person to be infected to spread the virus country wide.
There will have been the usual lorry loads and boat loads of illegal immigrants plus the possibility that the virus can be picked up within a short time frame from objects imported from other countries handled by a person who is at the infection stage of the process. The USA shut down flights pretty quickly but it soon started to spread to NY and other states.
The NHS is a Behemoth without top grade industrial type management - successive governments have thrown money into the never ending capacity of need so it always wanting and getting more money with diminishing return. The NHS will never have enough money due to medical progress.
We find better ways to treat cancers & all other types of illnesses as fast as one type of Scanner or Radiation Treatment is developed a new one pops up later. Just look at the shambles of Government IT systems that have cost billions and failed. The levels of waste within the NHS are eye popping and occur on many levels.
Had the NHS been a Private Company providing medical services to the paying public it would have gone bankrupt long ago. It's a fact that some of the NHS troubles go right back to its inception when Hospital Consultants were allowed to have their own contracts they are employed by the NHS and can do foreigners on the side (Private Practice) in that deal. That said it is also the envy of the world but few countries will admit it.
I love our NHS they have saved my life more than once - good management is definitely hampered by the grip of the likes of UNISON & BMA. As regards Consultants I have an analogy.
When I worked in the Motor Trade selling Mercedes Cars there was a waiting list at various times for desirable models. One in particular was the Mercedes 350 SE a new model back in 1973 the waiting list for a customer order was about 9 months. If I said to the customer you don't need to wait 9 months I have one at my home that you can buy next week if you visit me at home - my Boss would sack me for trading from home.
An NHS Consultant can do just that he can say well the waiting list for a New Hip is say 12-14 weeks but come and see me at The Nuffield Hospital and I can do it this Friday - that is the cosy situation that Consultants currently enjoy. Without advertising they have a ready made list of NHS patients / customers that they can operate on for extra money. We allowed NHS Consultants to do just that. Most Private Hospitals employ NHS Consultants on a part time basis. This cosy set up should have been banned decades ago but no Government Labour or Conservative has addressed it as the BMA would threaten to strike.
The private sector do not train Registrars or Consultants we the tax payer do that and let the Consultants Moonlight. I'm not anti trade union or against private health care but they should bear the real cost if they are not training staff.
It's my view NHS is far from run down that I think is UNion & Political Dogma - if we want the NHS to do & have more we should I think look for a drastic solution.
Take it completely out of Political Control, have it funded by direct taxation so that when you look at your PAYE Pay Slip or Pension Statement there is a figure that says NHS Tax "x" %. I do not know what this "x" figure is but as the NHS is the biggest single employer in the UK I'm guessing its significant.
Tax payers might not be so keen to give the NHS yet more money without seeing & getting value in return. Often we seem to just get more middle management in the NHS with its inverse pyramid structure when we inject more cash. A truly self funded private sector could then be compared to the NHS on an equal financial footing.
