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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Lifestyle Choices impacting on the NHS -Boiling my piss!!!!

356 replies

Lardychops · 27/06/2025 00:40

DH is currently on an NHS orthopaedics ward with around 7/8 other men.
He played 5 aside around 3 weeks ago , got bashed on the thigh and the bruise has spread and become hard and hot and painful, now infected and he needs it operated on due to risk of sepsis.

On the ward are 4 men 60 plus who have been involved in motorcycle accidents with legs in pins and have undergone several operations and been in hospital weeks ( 1 for months) as well as a young lad who was brought in yesterday following a cycling collision with another cyclist with his upper left side shattered. One other man was on a sponsored 3 peak running challenge (with a one man band scenario or such like ) and has shattered his ankle. Looking at an op tomo and a very long recuperation. yesterday a man left who had been in for three months after a skking accident with a broken hip that would not heal properly.

Am I unreasonable in thinking that with the NHS in the state it is at this current time that personal responsibility for lifestyle choices should be more of a consideration for all of us with the tax payer footing the bill for feckless and irresponsible behaviours.
It’s all avoidable surely , making better, healthier choices that do not willingly impact on limited resources.

Sports such as football, skiing, cycling, motorcross as well as mountaineering are risky to one’s health and people need to take personal responsibility.

Am I being unreasonable tax payers?

OP posts:
Tobacco · 27/06/2025 03:39

LadyChillT · 27/06/2025 02:46

that was not the direction I expected this post to take

The thread title drew in a couple of posters who were very disappointed to discover it wasn't about obesity 😄

Tiredandtiredagain · 27/06/2025 03:44

Don’t be ridiculous! Any accident is preventable by not doing the thing that caused the accident… so we do nothing?

Die of boredom?

Glitchymn1 · 27/06/2025 03:57

Haggisfish3 · 27/06/2025 00:50

Yabvu to choose those examples. These ar people living life to the full. You overlook the people who smoke and drink and eat unhealthily and don’t exercise who cost the nhs far far more.

Agree with this.

ClareBlue · 27/06/2025 03:58

A fundamental ethos of our healthcare system is we make no judgement of why people need to access healthcare and do not ration it on a qualitative criteria. This is a really, really good thing. On the margins it's easy to think not. But don't look a simplistic life style choices, look at the bigger picture. No judgement in our health care system is worth protecting.

Spartak · 27/06/2025 04:01

Why do you know all about the health issues of the other men on the ward?

I had an extended stay in hospital last year and I would have been furious if some nosey visitor was eavesdropping and then ranting about me on the Internet.

Mind your own business.

ClareBlue · 27/06/2025 04:04

Lardychops · 27/06/2025 00:40

DH is currently on an NHS orthopaedics ward with around 7/8 other men.
He played 5 aside around 3 weeks ago , got bashed on the thigh and the bruise has spread and become hard and hot and painful, now infected and he needs it operated on due to risk of sepsis.

On the ward are 4 men 60 plus who have been involved in motorcycle accidents with legs in pins and have undergone several operations and been in hospital weeks ( 1 for months) as well as a young lad who was brought in yesterday following a cycling collision with another cyclist with his upper left side shattered. One other man was on a sponsored 3 peak running challenge (with a one man band scenario or such like ) and has shattered his ankle. Looking at an op tomo and a very long recuperation. yesterday a man left who had been in for three months after a skking accident with a broken hip that would not heal properly.

Am I unreasonable in thinking that with the NHS in the state it is at this current time that personal responsibility for lifestyle choices should be more of a consideration for all of us with the tax payer footing the bill for feckless and irresponsible behaviours.
It’s all avoidable surely , making better, healthier choices that do not willingly impact on limited resources.

Sports such as football, skiing, cycling, motorcross as well as mountaineering are risky to one’s health and people need to take personal responsibility.

Am I being unreasonable tax payers?

Personal use of a car kills way more people, puts a higher burden on health services through injury in accidents than any of these mentioned.

countrygirl99 · 27/06/2025 04:08

Sitting on their arses watching TV to avoid sports accidents is hardly going to help the NHS.

Neemie · 27/06/2025 05:07

The nhs is there to protect us. We aren’t here to protect the nhs as if it is some sacred beast. If it doesn’t work then we need to change our health system and how we pay for it.

spoonbillstretford · 27/06/2025 05:10

Perhaps they should all stay indoors and contribute to the obesity crisis instead.

Mothership4two · 27/06/2025 05:14

Thought this thread was going to be about smoking, drinking and obesity!

OP is your DH aware of how furious you are at his feckless and irresponsible behaviour?

Moonlighttakethelid · 27/06/2025 05:20

I assumed this was a tongue in cheek post; that OP is trying to highlight the problem with the ‘personal responsibility’ idea that is used to beat up people who use up NHS resources as a result of their smoking, drinking, obesity etc.

Surely nobody would seriously suggest that playing football is a risky lifestyle choice?!

Zanatdy · 27/06/2025 05:22

Well if we are going to charge when there is some element of personal responsibility, where does it end? Smoked for a year when you were 15, you pay for your cancer treatment. Perhaps if engaging in some kind of illegal activity I could get on board with it, but riding a bike / motorbike is a perfectly reasonable thing to do.

WulyJmpr · 27/06/2025 05:22

The people you describe are the best of us. We may as well all lie down in boxes already if you don't want us playing sports and cycling, or challenging ourselves.

GiraffesAtThePark · 27/06/2025 05:24

I’m all for personal responsibility and that it would be great if people would think more about the impact of their actions.

Presumably none of those men meant to get injured. Exercise and sports have lots of benefits. If they were being reckless then it is annoying but that’s life.

I agree with others that we just have to treat everyone. Otherwise they’ll just restrict and restrict and before you know it you’re excluded.

dottiedodah · 27/06/2025 05:26

I voted YABU OP. We are constantly being told to get up and move.When the inevitable happens , should we not expect help from NHS . Which BTW is not "free" jolly old taxpayers are coughing up NI every month! Lots more blokes hanging around driving their wives mad on a Saturday morning? No thanks

Whatafustercluck · 27/06/2025 05:31

Most sports are risky to health. But they're also beneficial to health, and largely the benefits outweigh the risks. Imagine the crisis that would ensue if people simply gave up running, football, going to the gym etc. I think you're being short sighted to say the least.

Of far greater concern I would say is 'lifestyle choices' like excessive alcohol consumption, obesity and smoking/ vaping. We don't seem to be able to get the message to land that drinking, eating and smoking to excess will cause havoc with your health and a drain on the NHS. We already tax those things though.

dottiedodah · 27/06/2025 05:32

This is reminding me of a similar thread a few weeks ago. The OP then complained of too many "fit and well people, chatting in A and E" Sure they were all there for a liaugh!

Sundaymorningcalla · 27/06/2025 05:36

If you're in a car accident driving to work are you going to avoid the NHS as it was a lifestyle choice.

My god, some choice drugs being smoked by MN users today.

Guardin · 27/06/2025 05:36

I don't live in the UK. Where we are, any injury sustained while doing sport as part of a club is not covered by the public health service. Anyone who does sport as part of a club must take out private insurance to cover injuries from training and competing.

Just signed son up for football and as part of the sign up process had to provide proof of insurance. Would be the same for any other sport he signed up for.
If we took him to the public health service with a football injury we would be charged for the visit.

Scarydinosaurs · 27/06/2025 05:38

All of life is a lifestyle choice. You are being ridiculous.

TheBig50 · 27/06/2025 05:39

Husbands sport = okay.
Anybody else's sport = NHS drain.

Perfectly logical, to you only @Lardychops

Your husband should have been more careful with his thighs. I was going to suggest knitting but, oof, eye casualty is a bear pit.

whynotmereally · 27/06/2025 05:42

So will he be giving up football to save the NHS?

I do agree re motorcycles though, so dangerous.

TheBig50 · 27/06/2025 05:43

How lardy are your chops anyway? I hope not too lardy, you wouldn't want any health related illness what with the hospitals and GP's being inundated with feckless men.

SatsumaDog · 27/06/2025 05:43

You can put so many illnesses and injuries down to lifestyle choices. Where do you draw the line? Personally I have private health insurance for the whole family, but when it comes to emergency care you would be taken to an NHS hospital anyway.

Technically driving a car is a lifestyle choice, so should people involved in car accidents be excluded too?

party4you · 27/06/2025 05:44

OPs obviously posting this in response to people who say it about other things like obesity it’s quite obvious