To think the NHS has already failed.

[Goingforplatinum]

5 hour wait for a cat1 ambulance for a child. Unresponsive patients being taken to hospital by neighbours. 90 hour wait in A&E, unsafe staffing on wards, 7 month wait for coil or implant fitting. The NHS isn't failing. We need to admit its failed

Just mentioning the elephant in the room that was the vaccine mandate for care workers.

Psychological help 😂 I really don’t think the majority of ‘pensioners in poverty’ were working in social care. I don’t care how I’m coming across, I’m sharing my opinion same as anyone else. I would be saying the same if by some weird twist, 20 somethings were the wealthiest demographic and the biggest users of the NHS. It is the biggest issue the NHS faces yet whenever you mention it you get accused of ‘ageism’ because ‘it isn’t nice to old people’. By all means change my mind with facts, I’m always open to that.

Yes and this. Definitely an elephant in the room.

I said low paid essential jobs like care work for INSTANCE. Read my post properly.

There are many essential jobs. DM did one of them Food production. You were slagging off the poorer pensioners as well. So thats where you slipped up Which proves you dont like the poorer ones either. OWN IT

It was, but what was the alternative? Potentially killing granny! You have a situation now where only 50 odd percent of NHS staff have had their flu vaccine, some trusts only 25%. COVID vaccinations are much higher. But staff sickness is high, lots have flu, which is preventable, as an employer you want a healthy workforce. It's a tricky balance.

It's not a popular view but those of us who can afford it should take some personal responsibility where we are able and help out those with chronic or acute conditions or physical and mental special needs. And sorry, but if you can afford a £200 pound handbag (there are threads on here about this) then you can afford to pay £10 towards your GP visit. What matters more in life than one's health? Let's get our priorities right!

I agree. These are not ordinary times, we are all going to have to do uncomfortable things to try to get us back to some semblance of normality. I’m a slightly below average earner, I claim nothing, work full time. I would be happy to pay £10 per GP appointment, and other minor medical procedures such as ear wax removal (not that I have this done yet!).

We also need to stop blaming everything on ‘mental health’. I have met very few overweight people who admit it’s because they like food, eat too much and struggle with the willpower to restrict it. However I’ve meant many who say it’s due to ‘mental health issues’, and further blaming the NHS for not setting up a serious of costly psychiatrist appointments to ‘work out why they’re eating too much’. We didn’t have this with smokers - it was a case of chuck the fags away and buy yourself some nicotine patches (smoking has massively reduced incidentally, since it became socially unacceptable).

It was, but what was the alternative? Potentially killing granny

Nah That was the Governments job. But clap for care workers soon became crap on care workers.

When did I slag off poor pensioners? Does your mum not have pension/savings after 50+ years of working full time? I’m genuinely curious to understand how this happens?

What are you talking about?

Yes it absolutely has and ni is a huge chunk of our wages.

We need proper professional looking at others systems and going from there.

Yes keep it cheap/ free for a and e but it's been abused.

You questioned what those just living on their state pension had been doing for 40 years. You have been criticising poorer pensioners as well. You do realise gaslighting doesnt work with the written word right.

And if you want to educate yourself and find out more about the half stamp/married womans stamp......well Google is your friend

@JenniferBooth do you know what gaslighting actually means?

As for married woman’s stamp, your mum chose to pay less NI in return for a lower pension but 50% of their husbands (I think 50?), is that correct?

Yes i do and you are doing it You denied slagging off poorer pensioners when you did.

You have just got the hump because you forgot about or are probably so ignorant that you didnt even know about the married womans stamp. You are applying this centurys pensions rules to those that were around in the previous century and trying to rewrite history.

She was told that was all she had to pay so thats what she did.

If that was on the table now people wouldnt do it then In a COL crisis?

I didn’t. I queried how somebody could work for ~40 years and have nothing to show for it at the end and be solely reliant on state pension. That’s not ‘slagging off pensioners’. I make the same queries of working people whose situations don’t quite add up. You need to calm down. And yes I knew about the stamp (roughly).

It was voluntary, never mandatory - she chose to pay less NI.

And it isn’t on the table now because we have no money to offer it 😂

I would be happy to pay £10 per GP appointment, and other minor medical procedures such as ear wax removal (not that I have this done yet!).

No-one is getting ear wax removal at the GP now.

We also need to stop blaming everything on ‘mental health’. I have met very few overweight people who admit it’s because they like food, eat too much and struggle with the willpower to restrict it. However I’ve meant many who say it’s due to ‘mental health issues’, and further blaming the NHS for not setting up a serious of costly psychiatrist appointments to ‘work out why they’re eating too much’. We didn’t have this with smokers - it was a case of chuck the fags away and buy yourself some nicotine patches (smoking has massively reduced incidentally, since it became socially unacceptable

But we do have it with drinkers. Why is one group more deserving than the other.

If you make GP visits require a payment, more people will use free services such as a&e and walk in centres, regardless of their income.

And if they use those services for GP matters they should pay the same. Under 18s should be free.

@lacey79

I don’t agree. I think if the fee was sensible like Irelands, many people would pay it rather than wait 16 hours in A&E due to your problem which isn’t an emergency. Similarly with walk ins. Most people do not want to wait 4 plus hours to see a GP.

But we do have it with drinkers. Why is one group more deserving than the other.

Drinkers as well then 🤷🏼‍♀️

If you bring in payment people will expect to be seen on time not kept half an hour + past their appointment time.

I must be mistaken as my ex had this done at GP 7 years ago, has it changed?