AIBU to ask if you believe that a labour government will go some way to fixing the NHS?

[TabithaTwitchel]

I'm not a labour voter but I could potentially be persuaded for obvious reasons right now

I'd like to believe a new government could do 'something' to stem the rot in the NHS. But I'm not convinced.

Do you think it will help?

I don't understand why the NHS throws money at keeping people with dementia alive though pneumonia, but spends nothing on diagnosing developmental problems and neurodiveristy, and food intolerance in small children.

My Mum was in intensive care for a month, and they made the decision to do that knowing she had dementia. They went into it with no idea about whether she would have her mind working in anything like a reasonable way when she came out. It was a horrendous experience waiting to see what would happen, and it must have cost them a bomb. Now she has lewy body dementia and suffers terribly with it, and it didn't need to happen.

At the same time, my son has neurodevelopmental problems and food intolerance problems, and has had no NHS help at all. He has now dropped out of school with mental health problems because his childhood has been so hard. That didn't need to happen either, if they had spent a tiny fraction of the intensive care money on getting him a little bit of help early on.

Everybody keeps saying the NHS is struggling because we have an aging population. That's only happening because of decisions that consultants and relatives make about prolonging life. I wish they would think about the quality of life that a person can look forward to, before they make the decision to treat.

I think we ourselves need to have a national debate about this stuff, and where money should be spent, and what is a compassionate approach to medical care for the elderly. I don't want to end up the way my Mum is now. I hate seeing her suffer, and I hate seeing my son suffer too. It all makes no sense.

I'm not sure they could fuck it up further

I work in senior central NHS. If the next government focuses on getting the basics right then yes. And that includes education, social care and local authority funding as these play a vital role in prevention.

If it continues to pander to excessive lobbying from industry and spending too much on IT systems without making sure the basics around digital infrastructure are in place, then no.

None of this is dependent on whether it is a Labour or Tory Government. The current incumbents since Johnson have been dire.

Don't believe the headlines the NHS is surviving... just. And the alternatives of private provision not great at a national level for all sorts of reasons expensive marketing budgets and glossy magazines will fail to tell you about. But the NHS can't take another battering and neither can its partner services.

This is a systemic issue across all public services. Not just the NHS.

It’s a Sophie’s choice - Vote Labour and hope they improve the NHS - with the knowledge that they will destroy all your and your Daughters’ rights infavour of larping Men and potentially harm thousands of children if they ignore the Cass report and the Wpath files
Just look at Angela Eagle’s statement 🤬

unfortunately labour is the only realistic option if you want to be rid of the festering fungus that is the current bunch of tories

I have no hope re the nhs

I feel like it's been pushed too far. it needs total overhaul in its funding and structure and frankly no politician has the balls to do what is needed

I agree. The fact is that most western countries spend more per capita on healthcare than we do. If we raised our healthcare spending to the level of France, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands or Australia and our health outcomes lagged behind theirs, then fair enough, blame the system. But until we do that, we’re comparing apples and oranges.

Thank you for saying this.

I see the problems in all the public servics and it's heartbreaking, honestly. The austerity generation of children are growing up with no trust in the NHS, or schools, or even police. It's makes me think the 80s were quite nice really, and they were pretty awful already.

On the surface, they did last time.

The trouble is they lumbered us all with lots of poorly built PFI hospitals at vast cost, on uncompetitive rates that we will be paying over the odds for decades..

So it was good for the duration of their tenure and the downside didn't become clear until they were out of office.

Like most politicians. 🙄

I don't know if I believe it, but I really hope so. My family can't afford private healthcare and got lots of health issues (also why we can't afford private healthcare as too many expensive pre-existing conditions) so without the NHS we're screwed

What is actually in the news tonight (BBC) is a story about people of all ages dying in A and E for lack of staff or a timely ambulance.

I would quite like to have an election to find out. (understatement of the century)

Yes please.

Nonsense...... As the receptionist at my mums GP tells me. To many of The GPs are part time. Stop trying to defend the indefensible.

It's a shambles. When they say "an equal health service for all" they are right. It is equally bad for all. It needs ripping up.

Everybody keeps saying the NHS is struggling because we have an aging population. That's only happening because of decisions that consultants and relatives make about prolonging life. I wish they would think about the quality of life that a person can look forward to, before they make the decision to treat

I think we ourselves need to have a national debate about this stuff, and where money should be spent, and what is a compassionate approach to medical care for the elderly

I couldn't agree more, @WhenIsTheGeneralElection - and for context I'm fairly elderly myself

However if you dare to suggest anything but the prolonging of life at all costs you'll instantly be accused of eugenics on here

Part time doesn't mean lazy! That's hilarious. I'm a part time teacher, does that mean I'm lazy? At the end of the day it's the number of GP hours that counts, not how many each specific GP does. Our favourite GP at our surgery is part time because he shares child care with his wife. Does that make him lazy?

Can you really not see that it's about funding? If the surgery had enough money they could employ more GPs to cover more hours.

I think the receptionist at your mum's surgery sounds like a right gossip with a poor grip on reality.

To be honest, I'm getting quite sick of these sneaky threads popping up all over the place, where a Tory or likely Tory employee/s come on to pretend to ask seemingly innocent questions. Be transparent with people-we see through you.

@Zonder GPs are part time because the hours for a part time 3 day a week GP are already 36 plus.

We need a brave government to set up a cross-party, multi stakeholder committee that will set longer term strategies and goals, with funding guaranteed over the long term

It's called the 10 year plan, and was written exactly as you describe. It happens all the time, that's what APPG's do.

I think that The likes of you are why The NHS is so bad, and you do agree that it is terrible don't you?

It is supposed to provide a service. The service it provides is dreadful. Look at the state of dentistry in your blessed NHS.

Always judge a service on your own experience, not on some ideological stance, or because you have a vested interest.

My experience is mostly negative, lthough I have come across great individuals working in The NHS. The actual organisation as a whole is beyond help I'm afraid. It is too far gone, and more funding will not fix it.

Now, the discussion should be how do we replace it with something that actually works. That is the tricky question.

It doesn’t need replacing, it needs work to make it run properly. My very recent experience is that it works just fine when you access it, the problem is the length of time you have to wait to get there.

Dentistry is in the state it is because NHS levels of payment are far too low and the range of treatments it offers is too restricted. That’s down to the government and its reluctance to fund it properly.

I think they'll do a better job than the Tories for sure!

Working fine

like to know what department is working fine in the NHS

that some (and certainly not enough) patients are getting good care doesn’t mean a department is working fine

Cardiology in two Cambridgeshire hospitals.

No. Not really much more to say. It will never improve until the NHS stops being a political football which all political parties use to sling mud at each other.

No, don't be naïve.