Has the pandemic made you think about your NHS impact?

[reducingfootprint]

Aside from having children, i rarely have doctors appointments. I am the lower end of healthy weight, good blood pressure etc and think overall i must have a low impact on the NHS. I dont smoke, dont drink often but rarely exercise and probably have too much sugar
With covid devastating the NHS has it made you want to change your ways, like stop smoking and lose weight, to decrease your impact on the NHS?
So AIBU to think you should really complain about the stress if the NHS if you have an unhealthy lifestyle?

Some people are obese now due to lockdown.

Being healthy does not prevent from getting ill or having accidents.

Do you around and see obese people as a burden to the NHS? This way of thinking about changing your lifestyle for the NHS is worrying.

The issue is more to do with an ageing population & chronic conditions which tbh are inevitable as you age you need more care, drugs etc.

Also the focus is always on obesity & smoking but what about people who speed, do high risk sports or avoid taxes.

The main issue for me with your post OP is the idea that covid brought the nhs to its knees - the tory government did this way before the pandemic hit.

I always feel like a burden on the NHS. I'm healthy BMI, don’t drink or smoke ever, but I have a bunch of health conditions which involve daily medications and routine check ups. I can't help that. I wish I could, but that's not how life works.

@DoTheNextRightThing

I always feel like a burden on the NHS. I'm healthy BMI, don’t drink or smoke ever, but I have a bunch of health conditions which involve daily medications and routine check ups. I can't help that. I wish I could, but that's not how life works.

Don't feel like a burden. You are not. You are a person using swrvice which is and is supposed to be there for them. You are doing nothing wrong. You are NOT a burden on the service.

It's actually quite disgusting that someone somewhere managed to turn it the way that ill people feel bad for using the services instead of the ones doing budgets and budget cuts feeling bad.

I tried to limit my use of the NHS since covid and it ended up with me having massive asthma attacks which could have been prevented if I had called my GP at the first sign of my asthma not being under control. Now it will be weeks and weeks of meds to see if they are the right ones. The doctor even said to me, we are here for you, use us. I have been uncomfortable because of trying to avoid overloading the NHS. I regret it.

I had a high risk twin pregnancy and I broke my wrist requiring surgery then physio. Both of which cost the NHS £££s. Things happen.

I had an economics teacher who reckoned smokers save the country a fortune. The tax generated +pensions/care costs saved as they tend to die earlier is much greater than the cost to the NHS for treatment. So to save the economy we should all light up. (non smoker )

@womaninatightspot

I had a high risk twin pregnancy and I broke my wrist requiring surgery then physio. Both of which cost the NHS £££s. Things happen.

I had an economics teacher who reckoned smokers save the country a fortune. The tax generated +pensions/care costs saved as they tend to die earlier is much greater than the cost to the NHS for treatment. So to save the economy we should all light up. (non smoker )

Yes, dying young saves the NHS a ton of money as elderly people cost the NHS more than anyone and alcohol and cigarettes are highly taxed. So if you’re concerned about your NHS impact you should aim to be as fat as possible and drink and smoke as much as you can and encourage your children to do the same (or better still don’t have children). The healthier you are, the longer you’ll live and the more you’ll cost in care/medication/pension. Or just accept that the NHS is there for everyone who needs it and some people will use it more than others

No it has made me think that our health service is chronically under funded and not really adequate for the needs of the population. The problem is funding and service provision not the fact that people need care FFS.

Before 2015 I never went to the doctors other then the odd asthma clinic since then I’ve been diagnosed with various shit so I’m in and out of the doctors or hospital. The pandemic has made me realise just how bad the nhs is due to lack of money. Although I don’t smoke, drink or so drugs and I’m not over weight so that’s my contribution

[quote FindingMeno]@wingsnthat but wouldn't it be better if you do what you can to stay well and the money paid in improves lives/ outcomes for those not able to make those choices?[/quote]
In a perfect world I would love to be healthy forever. But I mean, no one chooses to get ill. I don’t smoke and I’m not overweight so my lifestyle isn’t really a factor. If anything happens, I will still expect a high standard of care after sacrificing part of my salary all of my working life. It’s not really fair to pin the outcomes of other patients on me.

I think most people would rather not smoke or be overweight but these things usually develop as a form of stress management, and thus can be hard to break.

If you start wondering about who deserves healthcare, where do you stop? For example you might maintain a healthy lifestyle, while your next door neighbour is 18 stone - but if they run a business that employs 15 people and eat to deal with the stress of that, well they are arguably contributing more to society than you are with your sole job, and are more deserving of care.

All in all the only thing to do I think is accept society has to function for everyone, and try to give everyone a fair crack at healthcare as we do education - while yes doing our best to find ways to get people to live healthy lives.

I hate smoking but I can't judge anyone for not quitting in what has probably been the most stressful or unsettling time of their lives.

People making small lifestyle changes isnt going to help the NHS

I find the British sanctimony and superstition around the institution of the NHS ridiculous and embarrassing. It’s a very poor service in comparison to those enjoyed by our friends in neighbouring European countries with similar GDP.

I work for the NHS in a hospital. I understand your point OP, and I see my fair share of patients who have what we call 'hospital syndrome' - they enjoy being coddled in hospital and take pleasure in having the nursing staff give them attention. People like this bother me massively. However I have also seen the other end of the spectrum where people put off coming in because they don't want to be a hassle.