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

[Lardychops]

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?

Oh my God, every day we have these posts about what should or shouldn't be treated on the NHS, what's people's responsibility, what's self-inflicted...do people even think about this for more than a second?

How? HOW would this be administered? Are you going to a percentage calculation of responsibility for every single injury and illness people turn up at the hospital with? I would wager you could make an argument that 99.9% of health problems have been to at least some small degree either caused or exacerbated by the person's "lifestyle" because being alive entails risk.

Its either free at point of use or its not. Which doesn't mean we treat everything in everyone - my aunt has a plethora of lifestyle diseases and at the moment she's being denied an orthopedic operation, not because she doesn't deserve it, but because her diabetes is so wildly uncontrolled that the risk of surgery outweighs the potential benefit. But the deserving/undeserving thing is an absolute and total dead end.

My FIL was still cycling the Surrey Hills in his late 80s and cost the NHS next to nothing. He worked hard all his life supporting a family and was more than entitled to a bit of cycling each weekend. MIL was more than capable of “wrangling” children as they were healthily not joined at the hip, she had her own interests and caring for children isn’t hard.

If that is the case it is poorly done. But the fact DH was hurt playing football did give me pause.

OP has made a similar comment on a recent NHS thread

How often did she get a whole child-free weekend day by herself?

What I said may not apply to their situation, but it applies to many, many others.

How many women with small children spend whole days cycling?

And also if caring for small children is so easy, why didn't he take them along cycling with him? He'd hardly have noticed them, right? Piece of cake.

So no one should do any sports, or take any transport that carries a risk? But then lack of activity is also bad for us and would have an impact on the NHS. The injuries you describe sound like generally healthy people just living their lives. Not something to criticise.

Do you include people crossing the road, going downstairs or slicing vegetables as those taking risks?

Clearly she is.

oh, how ironic...so you should have gone private for your dh's injury then...

you could shatter your ankle getting out of your car.

the motocyclists and cyclist might have been commuting, relieving pressures on traffic.

Completely right OP. Everyone should be sitting still in front of a tv or computer, or playing on a phone for as long as possible instead of doing any of the things you put forward. Because, that’s really going to help the NHS🤣🤣🤣. I mean, people running and cycling instead, where will it all end? I guess people could cycle on a stationary bike in front of the tv, but then, there is always that risk they may fall/trip getting off it, so best just to sit on the couch really.

Assuming OP does not drive, but takes public transport, as buses/trains are less risky accident wise than cars. Everyone should do their part as OP says!

I get where you’re coming from, OP. But I am risk averse, so it’s natural to be a bit put off my people who take risks like motorcycles.

My mother warned my brother for years that mopeds could be dangerous, but he ignored her naturally. He ended up in a terrible accident with a bus that stopped London traffic for ages and has lived with my mother since.

I think the world needs a balance of people who take risks and those who wouldn’t so I don’t think people should avoid doing things they love, but I can see your frustration.

What is motocross got to do with it?These are motorcyclists!! It is not a sport or a lifestyle but a legitimate mode of transport, and very safe apart from other road users who tend not to see them and will often pull out in front of them/hard to judge the speed of a bike. My nephew was on a motorbike 18 months ago and a car was driving on the wrong side of the road and ploughed into him- was in a coma for 3 months with pins in arms and legs and lasting neurological problems- not his fault in the slightest and the nhs was amazing and v necessary.

whats next? No one should drive cars? Walk on the street in case someone crashes into them? Ban gardening maybe as many accidents are in the household… are these all lifestyle choices?

the nhs is there to treat ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES not just diseases. Tell your husband to stop playing rugby if you feel like that. Get a grip op.

Well she never worked and had many clubs and friends she attended whilst FIL worked 5 days a week from the day he left school,cycling there every day to save money.He was entitled to some time off during the weekend. Cycling clubs don’t want children and they couldn’t afford multiple bikes. They didn’t even have a car. MIL has always pursued her gardening interests and clubs at the weekends too.

Newsflash- out side of MN couples compromise , don’t need to be joined at the hip and enjoy long happy marriages!!

She literally said her husband was playing football and ‘Sports such as football, skiing, cycling, motorcross as well as mountaineering are risky to one’s health and people need to take personal responsibility.’

So she is including her husband!

Straight over your head huh? It’s clear the op is tongue in cheek. She even included football (which caused her husbands injury) in the list of should they have to pay.

Reading comprehension is lacking for many this morning.

YABU. So we should all just stay safe and stay home safely sat on the sofa all day, and cost the nhs through being unfit and overweight instead.
In my opinion I’d rather things like sports injuries are needing resources spent on, rather than issues due to alcoholism, smoking, and obesity. But we can’t pick and chose who gets treatment, as where would we draw the line?

And it should be remembered that every one of us even slightly over weight or with raised cholesterol or BP are costing the NHS more. Everything from joints up awards are going to be less impacted if you have a healthy weight, low blood pressure and excellent cholesterol, if you don’t eat shite, avoid alcohol, don’t smoke and get plenty of exercise.

So I’m presuming unless the OP and her husband are leading uber healthy lifestyles they are in no place to judge others who are equally entitled to be on the same ward.

That is what the nhs exists for.

If you take the OPs stance to an extreme, then if a woman drinks or takes drugs during pregnancy gives birth to a baby affected by the woman’s choices, that baby shouldn’t be treated by the NHS. In fact, to go one step further, should any pregnant women receive NHS treatment for the pregnancy? After all, she’s made the choice to have sex in the first place - a recreational activity?

Well, no, because the baby is a separate person and didn't make the choice to be affected by drink or drugs.

Does include the latest weight loss fad, if, people who need to live in a&e just in case they have something wrong and need a season ticket, vaping, eating disorders,self harming

If you go down this route who decides what is acceptable or not

Yea but if they weren’t all out being active their health would likely be worse with heart stuff and other ill ness so 🤷🏻‍♀️

YABU. And ridiculous. For all the reasons pointed out here.

Just thinking back to when I broke my wrist (twice, same wrist). First time I was hanging out my washing (good for the environment) but turned quickly and got mixed up in my shoes. Second time I was pissed and fell up the stairs 🤷🏼‍♂️

NHS treatment isn't reserved only for perfect people who manage to stay completely fit and healthy (despite never doing any physical activity that could result in injury).

I hope your husband is better soon. If you want him to stop playing football because you think it presents too high a risk of him being injured and burdening the NHS, have that conversation with him (but don't expect it to go well).