The NHS is collapsing - what can we do?

[FedUpWithTheNHS]

First of all, I am not interested to do more bashing on GPs, NHS, nurses and whatnot. I sincerely do not think the issue is with them. So let's leave it at that.

But I have been trying to get some support for myself and struggle to get anywhere.
I have family members who have been waiting months, turning into years for severe issues and they are left in pain and scared.
I read threads on here (the one on sepsis, cancer scare etc...) and it's more of the same.

The system is collapsing but there isn't a private sector to pick up the pieces. I had to wait 4 mnths to see a cardiologist privately.... And now another 6 weeks to be able to have the prescription from my GP (At more than £100 per month, I just can't afford to get said prescription privately).
It very much feels like we are left to die, from no healthcare, tbh.

So far, I have written to my MP.
I am supporting groups working against the 'privatisation of the NHS'.
I'd vote Labour but tbh, just now, I can't say theyve filled me with confidence they will actually do what is needed. Which is increasing funding and ensuring doctors and nurses are staying in the UK and the NHS (at the very least)

What else can I, we, do?
I feel like we need to start shouting. LOUD. Very loud. But I am at loss as to what else I can do :((

Just eat a decent diet, take exercise, don't smoke (or vape). Or do cocaine for that matter.

I have been to two funerals of people under 50 this year. One due to COVID and the other was due to drugs.

Both people were morbidly obese, they suffered heart attacks which were fatal. Had they been healthier they would have had a much better chance of survival. This stuff matters.

I have another friend who also has problems and is overweight. I worry for her. And she has private insurance!

I think I probably now agree with this.

We don’t have properly joined up, comprehensive thinking on, well, anything. What we do have are lots of Initiatives! And doing well at Initiatives builds careers! I have just come out of a meeting where vast amount of nhs staff and resource has been expended on duplicating work undertaken by another public sector agency. But I am sure the staff who delivered this Initiative will get an excellent annual appraisal for this work.

Perhaps it’s time to face the fact that it DOES need privatising because it isn’t fit for purpose and hasn’t been for quite some time.

Maybe, but the UK has an abysmal track record when it comes to privatisation.

Perhaps if anything that had been privatised worked well for the consumer, there might be more confidence in the idea ?
Also if we move towards an insurance based scheme such as Germany's, will employers be willing to pay the additional cost, because it will cost everyone more ?

Gullible or finding themselves horrified at the conclusion that however shit the Tories are, the other parties seem worse. For all of those whining on about the awfulness of the Conservatives how about asking why after over a decade of their utter incompetence the other side are still not a shoo in? You'd think it would an easy fucking victory to just be obviously a bit better than the Tories but they can't even manage that! It's bloody embarrassing and I am far more angry at them - you can moan that they government don't do enough but why the fuck should they if they're not in any sort of danger? They may as well coast! We should have an opposition coming out with sensible, workable, realistically costed plans to improve the NHS, and housing, education, social care, investment etc etc etc. We instead have a few half-hearted ideas that don't stand up to basic scrutiny or debate, refusal to answer simple questions and a frankly terrifying attitude towards women and minorities. So yes, maybe the Tories will get in again but I personally wouldn't call it gullibility so much as desperation and despair.

The state pension age is now 73 for millennials so 75 is not a doddery old nanna

I never said it was & the state pension age moving out for younger people despite healthy life expectancy not increasing is outrageous. All the young people with means should leave.

I have been to two funerals of people under 50 this year. One due to COVID and the other was due to drugs.

Same, one cancer & one sudden cardiac arrest. Both incredibly healthy.

It’s always easier to blame patients. You’re too fat, stop smoking, exercise more, don’t do risky sports, ride motorbike etc, but the reality is, the NHS has been crashing for years. We’ve been heavy users for over 20 years due to a severely disabled son. Every single appointment now gets cancelled at least once before we see a consultant. Operations are difficult to arrange and when we finally arrive, equipment is unavailable. One huge difference is where wards have Matrons, they have been superb and manage more efficiently.

They are too many reasons for bed blockers, no care in the community or transfer to home/care home. Care assessments don’t take place due to lack of social workers/social services and have a huge knock on affect.

There isn’t one reason why the NHS is crashing but a multitude of reasons over decades of lack of investment.

I agree with this.

The NHS cannot be fixed.

We have millions of overweight people and it is just getting worse. They all expect to be treated.

We have smokers and alcoholics who expect to be treated.

We don't have the money to do all that.

It is easy to talk about taxing companies etc but the energy windfall tax is already deterring investment in the UK.

Ireland has the lowest rate of corporation tax so all the US tech companies invest there and pay billions in tax instead of here and yet people here still want us to tax companies more.

You can buy 90 at a time if you ask a pharmacist. There is no reason to have it prescribed.

@Newnameyetagain45 I didn't know that.

@curtainsfringe - the point of my post was that these were youngish people who died in part not simply because of the nominal cause of death but their diet and obesity made it complex and contributed to their deaths. Both of these people were full of life. We wanted them to be with us longer and for the sake of thinking about their diet they probably would have been.

Maybe on his next tour of a hospital he could find someone to explain what a woman is? You know, the ones with a cervix, that the Dear Leader says it shouldn’t be mentioned.

Do you really think that someone who is unclear about some very basic biology is in a good place to ‘sort out’ the NHS?

It's not just the NHS. The whole of society seems to be collapsing and the collapse seems to be picking up speed. It's really scary!

Who do you recommend we should vote for ? Who will fix the NHS ?

Welsh Labour runs NHS in Wales - it has many issues.

SNP do same up In Scotland.

Not entirely sure who running NHS in N.I

Tory's run it in England.

Central government does give out the cash - so Labour government might up amount put in but that money will either come from higher taxes or cuts elsewhere or both.

TBH though given ours and relatives experiences not sure money will solve all the issues - probably help fair bit - a lot is poor communication inefficiencies - though I supposed it Tory with their immigration obsession do get kicked out perhaps we can go on some international recruitment drive.

I think Labour/Lib dem might get more trust to do more reforms/tinkering with NHS - but I don't see anyone suggesting whole sale reform.

TBH it will probably limp along past bulge in older population and end up eventually being some form of safety net service by default all the while blaming patients for needing to use the service will be the distraction used to advert public attention from the crumbling service.

Please no trans stuff thanks. I'd really like to hear what posters have to say on this and not genderwoo

People should have to pay for health insurance each month to be able to use the nhs like they do in other European countries. If they don’t have it and refuse to take it out, fine them. Fine people for missing doctor’s appointments. Health insurance should cost around £100 a month and anyone earning under 25000 should get free insurance paid for by the government. If people have an operate they should have to pay a £400 excess towards the cost.

files.constantcontact.com/9bc520cb001/22a76bf4-8c9a-4d78-a1dc-6deecdc16a09.pdf

I posted this on another thread recently. The stats on page 15 are worth a read. The authors have their own agenda but it might help people who don't work in the NHS to understand that managers make up 2% of the workforce. It's easy for politicians to say "oh the NHS just needs to be more efficient and and have fewer managers" but that doesn't account for.

Serious levels of underfunding
Underfunded social care
An inadequate and broken workforce
And don't forget many many staff work extra hours unpaid every day of every week of every year and the system would be worse off if they didn't.

@TheHandmaiden yes but the point of my post was healthy people get struck down too. Both of the people I know were full of life & of course we wanted them to be with us longer.

No answers - it's all very depressing

Not a day goes by where someone isn't jumping in front of a train or hanging off a bridge in my local area lately. There's very little help out there.

"Both people were morbidly obese, they suffered heart attacks which were fatal. Had they been healthier they would have had a much better chance of survival."

Just as devil's advocate, if they died aged less than 50, they probably cost the NHS less than someone who eats all the right stuff, exercises, and lives to a ripe old age when health issues are almost inevitable, often chronic, and likely very expensive to manage.

Maybe we should encourage people to have hedonistic lifestyles; might be cheaper overall...

Do you really think that someone who is unclear about some very basic biology is in a good place to ‘sort out’ the NHS?

On this issue of the NHS, which is what we're talking about here, I favour the Labour plan more than I like the Tory track record.

There isn’t one reason why the NHS is crashing but a multitude of reasons over decades of lack of investment.

yep

On a recent thread with stark statistics on obesity the main message was government or manufacturers need to fix this

Very, very low on I can change this

It’s a problem and getting worse

Dd has just had a cardiology referral and she was seen a week and a half later, has now had a 48 hour monitoring and blood tests and sees the Consultant again on 15 June to discuss next steps. If you’re waiting months, generally it means your need is less urgent (although I do appreciate it feels urgent to you it’s likely not life threatening).

i do think there’s issues but people expect next day delivery type service without the price tag of that so the nhs will never meet expectations of many people.

But why should I pay more to treat people who don't care about what they eat or drink?

The things we can do in the immediate term are to protest, write to MPs, or otherwise become active in advocating for an improvement in services and pressuring the government to act.

Long-term things we can do are a) to not vote the Conservative party in at the next election and b) to take better care of our own health as a society. Our obesity levels, our inactivity, and our alcohol and tobacco use are shocking compared to other European nations: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanhl/article/PIIS2666-7568(20)30062-3/fulltext

Our air quality is also very poor. Air pollution is the single biggest environmental health hazard in the UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/air-pollution-applying-all-our-health/air-pollution-applying-all-our-health) and yet we are incredibly resistant to giving up or reducing our car usage (just look at any thread on here suggesting it). Pressure needs to be applied to government to improve public transport, create walkable communities, and expand cycle lanes. This would also help quite a lot with b) above.