to think the NHS can't charge for drunk treatment without charging for other self inflicted

[suziepra]

There is huge support for charging drunk people for a and e. I think this is being launched in Ireland.

I'm tee total but I don't agree with this as it is unfair just to pick on people that drink. Stats have been showing that young people drink less than ever these days.

Why should someone that has chosen to play a contact sport like rugby get free treatment if the drunks have to pay? What about someone who has chosen to live on junk for decades that has obesity treatment?

Andrewofgg Wed 13-Aug-14 11:26:57
RedToothBrush Poots is out of step with England, Wales and Scotland.

Point is, that people are making comments with regard to it affecting the rest of the country when actually its really only a localised debate started by an incompetent idiot, who wouldn't get his views taken seriously nationally.

Lots of people end up going to A&E because GPs wouldn't see them for weeks. It may not look like emergency, but when you're ill, you're ill, in 2-3 weeks you may be dead if left untreated.

I struggle to have sympathy for people who have conditions because of a lifestyle choice, I really do. I want to shake them and say 'do you know how lucky you are? Get a grip, stop eating/smoking/drinking yourself to death and you will get better'

Not that simple. You can't tell an alcoholic just stop drinking

And I also have a degenerative disease that will probably in the end be the cause of my death.

So many people struggle alone with anxiety or depression. Drinking and eating too much are all common coping mechanisms. There is very little help for people who struggle through life, but are not actively suicidal.

Certainly the fattest person I know, also has bipolar, although you wouldn't know that unless you knew her well or had been with her whens she has totally lost touch with reality. Medication does help her, but she also comfort eats as a way of coping.

Smoking rates are very high amongst psychiatric patients.

Sometimes I think a bit more understanding about other people's struggles would be helpful.

I agree with the poster upthread who said that there should be triage posts in city centres which are part funded by the entertainment venues there. This might help keep the pressure off A&E depts. Having sat in an A&E for hours on a Sat night after a minor car accident I watched the antics of the Sat night party crowd with complete disgust. I honestly don't know how A&E staff don't punch them in the head. for all A&E staff.

Get a grip, stop eating/smoking/drinking yourself to death and you will get better

..and would you tell a depressed person to cheer the fuck up? '

To everybody who is saying our NHS is 19th in the world, that was how we were rated by the WHO's report in the year 2000, 14 years ago.

Of course things have changed since then and a more recent report (June 2014) found the NHS to be the best out of 11 developed countries including France, US, Germany and Australia.