Collapse of normal life

[OldPot]

It feels to me that this is what is beginning to happen. Spiralling bills that surely only the well off can pay, shortages of things we all took for granted (2 of my mum's regular medications are out of stock, no chemicals for the local swimming pool, things opening for a few hours instead of all day (post office, banks etc), NHS on its knees, many other services just not running as they should). Plus the sodding infernal heat and drought this summer.....

And yes I know we are luckier here in the UK than many, many others countries.....but I just feel there is no turning back to life pre-covid.

You're not on Twitter 😂

I agree with you, though. Hate Sunak as much too. They both elicit an actual physical reaction of revulsion in me. It's not healthy.

Out of interest why do you hate Truss more?

I never thought I'd see in my lifetime Maggie being elevated from her position of worst ever PM

@Zonder Well that's strange because we have just moved back from Denmark and it was not a pay in system and was available to all-funded from general taxation- same in Sweden too

It's a big mix in Europe and most countries that have a pay in system dont also have National insurance in quite the same way as we do here-

@Festoonlights you've got it wrong there about all of us 'lefties' preferring Sunak -- I'm a centreist, I want Truss in- she's an utter liability , with bugger all charisma- in fact a bloody weirdo , prove to speaking foot in mouth bullshit and will I personally feel go down like a bag of cold sick in the former red wall' areas . (And I'm originally from one of those areas) - They liked Boris coz they thought he was a bit of a charmer- bit of a laugh- liked a drink- she has none of that appeal

Not sure why you tagged me here. Is it because I commented about underfunding of the NHS? I guess the system in Denmark is properly funded from taxation unlike the UK NHS which is being starved of money. It could work if the government wanted it to. That was my point.

@Festoonlights

Im praying Truss gets in. She’s so hopelessly out of touch and dangerous she will hopefully finish the Conservatives for good. 🤞🏻

@Zonder apologies - I misinterpreted a comment below- serves me right for zooming thru threads !!!

@Zonder and yes you are absolutely correct. It can work perfectly well as a system if funded correctly as Denmark proved. As I constantly tell people they have 46% tax!! But higher wages, no NI, no council tax , a lot of great quality social housing , good public transport, higher pensions and very low cost childcare for all. It's a totally different mindset that people embraced. The tax is high, but so much more is covered off and done to a good standard

@GreenLunchBox Because whatever you thought of Thatcher she had inmutable principles, surrounded herself with a cabinet of heavyweights and took care of the nation's purse. She even paid for a 17-quid ironing board for No 10 so as not to spend taxpayers' money. Johnson and his cronies and continuity Johnson-Truss do neither. Indeed Truss spaffed nearly 2k of money at some private Mayfair club to talk trade when the FCDO have perfect venues to host such events.

Oh and Truss like Johnson seems to be sexually incontinent - call me old-fashioned but those that serially cheat on their partners are unreliable, often lying deceitful characters. Nothing I have seen about Truss disabuses me of that position. Thatcher on the other hand loved and cherished Dennis to the very end.

I was under the NHS for an issue for the most part of the first decade of this century.

I wasn’t allowed an MRI to actually discover what it was that was wrong. Instead I was left for 7years in constant agony, unable to sleep because the pain was so bad, unable to work, just holding it together for my children. To the point I was planning suicide.

The reason I wasn’t allowed a £300 MRI was purely down to the NHS not being able to afford it and I was told that the consultant would try different things till one worked. In other words. Guesswork.

I was shouted at for not doing the physio when I was because apparently I shouldn’t still be in pain

I ended up going private and being diagnosed within 15 month mutes because the osteopath listened to what I said. I was then sent for the MRI to confirm her diagnosis

I had been moving around with a slipped disc for 7 years.
NHS. Guesswork was that I needed a new hip that I wouldn’t get for another 15 yearS

i probably cost the NHS £500,000 to save that £300 MRI.

The NHS front seem to recognise that their penny pinching ways cost so much more money than they save. That is where the money is going.

Also if tye NHS is on its knees why do sons hospitals soend tens of thousand of pounds on rainbow level crossings in their car park.
mMy local hospital spent £36,0000 on changing their zebra crossings then is complaining it hasn’t any money.

Something doesn’t add up

Here are some facts @Kennykenkencat. I tend to find them more reliable than anecdote.

Facts?

Are peoples lived experiences not facts?

Where do these facts come from.

The 2000-2010 was about cutting corners and penny pinching and this is the result.

If a GPs 10minute appointment costs say £20 and a blood test appoint ment costs another £20 and you can only discuss one thing and then have a blood test for one thing. But you need to discuss 3 things that are related and need blood tests to look at 3 things.
Isn’t it cheaper to book one 15 minute appointment where you can discuss everything, and be sent for one blood test where they can take enough blood for the 3 tests than have to go to 3 10minute appointments and 3 separate blood tests
Tgat is why the NHS is on its knees. In its pursuit of saving money it wastes hundreds of millions.
The GPs themselves don’t listen to the patients They will dismiss the patient as being paranoid or blame them for looking on Doctor Google instead of testing for what the patient thinks they have until they have dismissed everything else

Forgot the link! Here are the facts.

www.kingsfund.org.uk/sites/default/files/field/field_publication_file/independent-audit-nhs-under-labour-1997–2005-sunday-times-march-2005.pdf

The 2000-2010 was about cutting corners and penny pinching

Highest investment ever. Lowest waiting times.

And according to the report very little improvent in patient outcomes, rocketing MRSA levels, fudged statistics, and tortoise like diagnostics - extrapolating of course to helping keep waiting lists low because the patient can't go on the waiting list until diagnosed. No analysis of how much was spent on PCT's rather than actual healthcare.

Very interesting and informative reading.

@Crikeyalmighty makes me wonder why you came back! Denmark sounds great!

@Kennykenkencat you know most hospital car parks are totally independent of the NHS, in fact most seem to be NCP! So different budget altogether.

@Zonder Partly work related stuff with my H was proving awkward as needed to come back a lot and flights have halved and fares doubled plus elderly parent stuff

Facts?
Are peoples lived experiences not facts?

Well said! So often I have seen people quoting "facts" from the internet and arguing against people who were alive at the time in question and know exactly how things were. Statistics do not always show the truth - I would far rather trust people's lived experiences. I get a bit sick of people who were not there at the time professing to be experts.

I was there at the time - working in the NHS. My lived experience is in line with the facts. Interesting that you assume I’m too young to have been there.

Our local pool was out of chemical the weekend too!

Thank you for your contributions to this thread - very interesting.

Just come back from Spain and France. It's apparent that the Spanish can eat out at relatively low cost. Their roads and services are maintained well. France food costs are higher but they still seem to have much better community paid services than us. I didn't see beggars on every street corner. In fact I didn't see any!

This. Which wouldn't be the case if we were still in the EU with unlimited migration.

I was there at the time - working in the NHS. My lived experience is in line with the facts. Interesting that you assume I’m too young to have been there.

Sorry, but my post was not actually aimed at you. I was simply agreeing with another poster that people's lived experiences are indeed facts. You may well have been there and your experience in line with the facts but I was talking about posters in general. I have seen far too many telling us what life was like in eras before they were born and insinuating that because they had found statistics/facts on the internet they know more about that era than those who were actually there. I meant no disrespect to you.

Which wouldn't be the case if we were still in the EU with unlimited migration.

Exactly. If we were still in the EU we wouldn't have all these staff shortages everywhere.