We ride at dawn - for the NHS

[GloGirl]

Seriously, are we the public going to do anything about this? Can we coordinate a mass protest/march? Mini protests outside hospitals? Has everyone been writing to their MP?

I can't read these headlines any more, it's breaking my heart. I was sure during covid it would force the govt to reconsider its treatment of the NHS - that it would force a change in priority for social care, pay, structures, staffing.

How did we hit a new low, and just keep going? Who is with me??

You could definitely organise a local one if you wanted to. But the Tories couldn’t give two fucks about protests, aren’t they passing laws to restrict striking action etc?

The best thing we can do as a public is take control of our own health issues where possible. Lose weight, stop smoking and drinking, eat healthily, try the pharmacy for minor issues before making GP appointments, try self care for any MH related issues etc. But nobody wants to hear that.

It's so awful! I work for a national health charity and we have a press briefing every morning and updates on ambulance waiting times. The stories we are hearing from families are truly heartbreaking, I feel like we need to do more but also feel quite powerless 😢

There's no doubt that some care does leave a lot to be desired and we've all seen horror stories BUT the principle of accessible healthcare for all has to be a no brainer surely? Let's face it, none of us ever know what tomorrow may bring and even if you can access private healthcare today - there's no guarantee that will always be the case and if it was a loved one, you'd like to think that they wouldn't have to suffer through not being able to afford it.

To name only a few of those headlines.

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11591599/NHS-E-crisis-killing-500-patients-week-Health-chiefs-warn-worst-winter-record.html

www.ft.com/content/2ee16591-a973-4f9f-93e3-3ec6db66cf48

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-64190442

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/01/02/cancer-crisis-18000-patients-face-record-breaking-wait-treatment/

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nhs-dentist-shortage-bad-4-28819001.amp

theguardian.com/politics/2023/jan/09/barclay-agreed-to-discuss-lump-sum-or-back-pay-for-nhs-workers-say-sources

www.independent.co.uk/news/health/nhs-care-home-free-beds-crisis-b2258952.html

It's a pointless argument though. Where people have to pay for their own healthcare, eg America - are they healthier? Do they eat better?

We don't pay enough. Our healthcare is underfunded. I can't increase the budget - we need to make sure the politicians who work for us do.

Our healthcare is our own personal journey - I want mass action to create a loud voice. I want to stand with whistleblowers, and nurses strikes etc and help show public support for our public institution.

Apply for the hundreds of jobs that are advertised? There are numerous non clinical posts that are vacant and desperately need filling as much as the clinical roles do

I'm busy as a carer for my disabled children - which itself relieves pressure on the NHS.

And there are many people unable to work in the NHS - maybe they already have a great job with great prospects. Perhaps they're working outside the NHS in another essential role (we quickly learnt what those were during covid). Perhaps people rely on the NHS due to ill physical or mental health and cannot work but would love to support a movement that did.

So make it happen and organise a demonstration!

We’re not the States though, I fail to see why that comparison is always drawn when we’re much more similar to European countries.

What actual difference would a protest make?

people rely on the NHS due to ill physical or mental health and cannot work but would love to support a movement that did.

Therein is part of the problem. Our society is so unhealthy that I’m not sure the NHS can ever really keep up with the growing demand particularly when it comes to MH. There isn’t the staff to recruit even if we had the money.

But the easiest way to alleviate the pressures of an understaffed organisation is to fill those posts. A protest isn't going to relieve that stressor, bodies on the ground will.

So those who are so unwell as to need support should not dare ask for better?

Are we victim blaming all health conditions or just the ones you dont approve of or consider self-inflicted?

We're consistently informed by those working in the NHS about horrendous conditions. Feeling underpaid, or crying because their job is so stressful, or having to support patients sitting corridors for 3 days. Wondering who they've helped or not helped - who may die because there is no better care for them.

People should read that and think "That sounds like a great career path"!

We cant resolve this chronic underfunding even if you guilt 10000 people into working for the NHS.

How much £, s, and d do you want thrown at the NHS ?

The conditions are horrendous because of the lack of staff. 1 person doing the work of 3. The roles are advertised but no one applies because they are told it's a horrible organisation to work for... It's not a funding issue it's a people are complaining because they're overworked and stressed out so people are hearing this and thinking they don't want to work there. If you want to save the NHS, work for it.

Enough until it fucking works.

Enough until A&E wait times is consistently 4 hours.

Enough until people dont pull out their own teeth as they have no NHS Dentist.

Enough until I KNOW i can phone for an ambulance for my Dads stroke/heart attack and know the outcome will be better than driving to the hospital myself.

Enough until people ask for support for suicidal children, with wait times less than 6 months.

Enough until there are more hospice beds, care beds to relieve bed blocking.

Enough so NHS staff dont cry going to work. Enough so they dont quit. Enough so theyre encouraged to train.

Enough so my Mum can get a GP appointment for a chest infection within a week.

Until it's enough.

The NHS got £219 billion in 2021. It might be a lot of things, but underfunded it isn’t. Badly run, maybe.

I don’t mind paying more for European-style healthcare, but I’m fucked if I’m willingly paying any more for this shitshow.

If we want to make comparisons to European countries, if this were France forget protests there would be riots by now.

Why are the British so passive? We’re just putting up with the government collapsing the health service and doing nothing about it. We can’t fill those vacancies without a pay rise. We’re advertising jobs that nobody is applying for.

So if you dont work in the NHS, you shouldnt complain.

If you do work in the NHS, you shouldnt complain.

Be honest, you really think the problem is people complaining not the susbtance of those complaints?!! 😅

The data on spending is very clear

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_health_expenditure_per_capita

We pay a lot less per capita than a lot of countries. Funding is a huge issue.

The problems can't be solved by only throwing more money at it, though. The government could allocate another £100bn to the NHS tomorrow, and the needle would barely move for another four or five years.

Another big part of the problem is education, and encouraging enough people to move into healthcare (not to mention getting them to the point where they're qualified enough to even start the courses required to do so). Of course, only doing that doesn't solve the problem either, because people aren't going to do it while the conditions are so poor.

Demanding a simple solution (like "better funding!") to a complex systemic problem is exactly why we're in this mess - we, the British public, allowed all of the political discussion of the NHS to be reduced to soundbites and slogans, when any sustainable solution must be far more nuanced and far-reaching than that.

I agree, it's not underfunded it's badly managed. Also the Government's fault.

That data is from pre-2015. My understanding is we’re bang average in Europe now, just more shit. Probably because of the state monopoly and the fact that the better off don’t contribute according to means. I’d be happy to do that, but not to piss money into the wind via the NHS.

Xyhere "Demanding a simple solution (like "better funding!") to a complex systemic problem is exactly why we're in this mess - we, the British public, allowed all of the political discussion of the NHS to be reduced to soundbites and slogans, when any sustainable solution must be far more nuanced and far-reaching than that."

exactly.

The NHS isn’t free. It’s paid for - by peoples taxes.
We could be better off switching to a system as they have in France/Germany and Switzerland
It actually makes people more proactive about their health - as the see they money leaving their bank accounts each month. Rather than the NHS where the care is considered to be free - when it isn’t. Plus people would have more choice about treatment/surgeries etc. Happy to explain more.