I’m in awe of the Queen

[Nahhh]

I’m no royalist, I dislike the fawning, particularly towards younger members of the family. Somehow I find myself watching Trooping the Colour and I can’t help but be impressed by the Queen.

She’s 95, very recently widowed following 70 odd years of marriage. She’s just got back from Cornwall and is again on active duty, enjoying this event. I know she’s lived an incredibly pampered life with the best health care, etc. I’m just amazed by her sense of duty and her strength.

@Gladimnotcampinginthisweather So my dear old dad lacked 'a definite determination not to 'give in'. Or what are you saying? What did you mean by extolling the virtues of your mothers and the queens longevity and their wondrous 'values'. If your mum has a long life, she got lucky. My dad grew up in serious deprvation in the gorbals and suffered from MS, rheumatoid arthritis and heart disease. Sucked to be him, eh? A long life is not a personal achievement or of any great moral value. Being ill and/or disabled is not a sign of weakness or a lack of moral fibre, yet many on this thread have come very close to implying, if not explicity stating this.

I agree HeadNorth. My Mum had extreme fortitude, looked after herself, was very stoic and brave but evil cancer got her, and she tried her best not to give in to that. Doesn't matter how much fortitude you have, how admirable your values are, you are just lucky if you survive to your 90s. Nothing to do with 'fortitude'

There are always exceptions but life expectancy decreases for those in less affluent areas and living in poverty. Sorry but don’t like the tone of some folks that having good medical care when you need it is just bye-the-bye. Not to mention inequalities in health care in the country. The queen has been very fortunate and I wonder how many other people would be healthier and more productive in their old age if they had such opportunities.

Perhaps the Queen is also an exception and has been blessed with very rude health?

Dont like the tone? I’ve not seen any ‘tones’.

We are all different. I have only had 2 .5 days off in my entire working life.

Life has been very hard in places. Knocked my pan out working. Still do. Any deaths in our family and illnesses with those still here? We could have had the best care in the world. It wouldn’t have mattered.

I have had the same upbringing and environment as everyone else. Jobs wise (shifts/stress/dangerous environments) in comparison everyone else has had it easy.

And I’m the one who enjoys good health. Go figure.

There is no question that the Queen is fortunate. But I have a feeling she’d have also been fine if she’d have been my nan.

And my nan, if she had been Queen, would still have died relatively young.

The point is that many who could live a long and healthy life do not because of poverty and inequalities in healthcare. Many would be able to reach their full potential with better health. We have come a long way in reducing poverty thank goodness but there is still work to do. It should not be forgotten that good healthcare is a great privilege that can extend and improve the quality of life and that many in this country do not have. The fact that some can be healthy regardless or that you get self-made billionaires coming from nothing doesn't negate this to me. There are trends that should be acknowledged - not just anecdotal information.

My nan, for example, if she had been Queen may have died a whole lot later though it would be unlikely due to race! Just from being taken seriously by doctors and preventative screenings.

And my point is that even without the best in healthcare my family are still here thanks to the wonderful NHS. It may be anecdotal to you and not a trend. But it is my life and my reality. And I would say the reality in the town where I am.

My nan would have had more years in her. She ignored a lump - for reasons unknown.

My nan was given every chance - just too late. And sadly the reason she died was because she told us of the problem too late - it was not down to the care she received. Just time.

I’m sorry that your nan didn’t get the same care

good healthcare is a great privilege that can extend and improve the quality of life and an important factor for a long healthy life.

Health is not down to privilege or riches or wealth. It may help you get treatment but some things can’t be treated. Or can be managed but not cured.

What rot.

There's a direct correlation between money and health.

I have lifelong health problems that will likely shorten my life due to growing up in poverty (lung problems from having grown up in homes with no heating and black mould all over the walls, health problems from having experienced chronic malnutrition growing up).

I've been on a waiting list for mental health treatment for nine years to get help for serious PTSD after being kidnapped and raped. It's basically impossible to get mental health care if you're not rich, unless you're at the point where you need to be locked up, which is not a beneficial environment.

My grandmother died because doctors fobbed her off and told her it was just "her nerves" and refused to send her for tests.

Plenty of people die of treatable illnesses because they have no access to healthcare, can't afford healthcare, or because NHS waiting lists are so long.

I have a loved one who had a minor stroke last year and has not yet seen a doctor (only telephone appointments, neurologists not seeing anyone in person) and their next doctor appointment is not until March 2022. The fact that people in the UK can have a stroke and have to wait two years to see a single doctor is an outrage. This person's parents both died young of stroke and they urgently need to start taking medication to prevent another stroke but the waiting lists for after-stroke care are just too long. The chance they will have another stroke due to NHS waiting lists is very high.

You think if the Queen had a minor stroke she wouldn't immediately be rushed to the best hospital and given round the clock care and constant monitoring?

I agree.
And no doubt there will be medical facilities within whatever Palace the queen is in.
She will have a medical team probably travelling with her at all times (if not that, a Doctor) and the slightest twinge of anything would mean instant scans, x-rays and diagnosis and ongoing treatment. No waiting, no worrying.

Pre covid I waited 4 months for a scan of my knee and a further two months for physio., all whilst in awful pain.

It will be very different for the RF.

Thank you SheldonesqueTheBstard.

I’m glad that you have had a great experience as I’m sure many in the country will have. The thing is money and power give you options if things should go wrong as they do for many people in the country. Some free healthcare is great in certain areas but some services differ by area too. The links between health and wealth are sadly clear.

' no doubt there will be medical facilities within whatever Palace the queen is in. She will have a medical team probably travelling with her at all times (if not that, a Doctor) and the slightest twinge of anything would mean instant scans, x-rays and diagnosis and ongoing treatment. No waiting, no worrying.'

Yes all the Royals are extremely privileged having direct access to medical experts at all times. No waiting for referrals or anything, or wondering who to ring for advice.

@WisconsinRaw

That's shocking with your loved one and a stroke. And actually very scary.

"Yes all the Royals are extremely privileged having direct access to medical experts at all times. No waiting for referrals or anything, or wondering who to ring for advice."

Based on recent reports, not all RF members know who to ring for advice or how to get the medical care they want. Refused medical assistance via HR.

Well yes, the royals are privileged to have access to medical help (apart from Harry and Meghan, as someone has already pointed out), but Dr Hillary remarked on GMB on Monday that the best place to suffer any sort of cardiac issue is a football stadium during a major match. So you could also complain that footballers are privileged (as indeed they are).

'Based on recent reports, not all RF members know who to ring for advice or how to get the medical care they want. '

As I said goldie all members of the rf are very privileged and have access to a whole host of medical experts.

When the RF go to hospital it tends to be King Edward V11 hospital, just 56 beds, and 4 nurses to each patient
Stained glass windows, a library, a hydrotherapy pool, and room service!

That should be VII not V11 (I thought it looked odd!)

Just to add to that... these are the staff keeping the RF fit and well !

The official “Medical Household of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom (Whew—that’s quite a mouthful!) has been a part of the royal family for hundreds of years. It is made up of a multiple healthcare professionals from different specialties. As one Palace spokesman put it, “Royal physicians are appointed for their wide-ranging skills and abilities.” The current team is made up of:

Physicians to the Queen (2)
Serjeant Surgeon
Surgeon to the Queen
Surgeon Oculist to the Queen
Surgeon Gynaecologist to the Queen
Surgeon Dentist to the Queen
Orthopaedic Surgeon to the Queen
Physician to the Household
Surgeon to the Household
Surgeon Oculist to the Household
Apothecary to the Queen
Apothecary to the Household at Windsor
Apothecary to the Household
Apothecary to the Household at Sandringham
Coroner of the Queen's Household

(I think we better ignore the last one )

Bleedin’ heck. That’s some list!

We have no riches in our family so not ‘rot’ for us.

The queen’s father had untold riches probably and died young.

I agree that some can be helped and aren’t and that is shocking.

Recently that will also be down to Covid. It still doesn’t make it right with regards to your loved one.

And I’m sorry for that.

I can only say what happens locally. And though we have no immediate access like the Queen, I can promise you that she would be no better off than my mam or dad or sibling is.

They cannot be made better. Only managed. And we are still ticking along.

I can’t speak for the Queen, but I can speak about my family and our local experiences.

There is no benefit to having instant access to treatment if there is no cure for what you have.

I care for my family as well as working all the hours God sends. If there was a cure for their illnesses I would sell anything and everything I have. I can’t sell my kidney or half a liver as that has been promised for when things deteriorate. But I’d have done it to see my family healthy.

I could win millions on the euros. All it would do is pay for a spanky funeral eventually.

That is my ‘what rot’ when someone says money or privilege changed things.

I wish your loved one well and hope they get the treatment they deserve soon wisconsin

Isn't that list a bit like the list of "By royal appointment" companies, who supply the Queen with goods and services?
So they aren't solely on call to the palace, just called upon if ever they're required?

I know as much as you Hendricks. It's called 'Medical Household of the Royal Household of the Sovereign'

Happy to be corrected if it's wrong.

I think they're the experts to be called on when needed. The Surgeon Gynaecologist to the Queen is Alan Farthing who works at Imperial College Hospitals as well as his private practice, so I don't think he does much hanging around at the different palaces.

(He's the guy who was engaged to Jill Dando when she was murdered).

@CallmeHendricks

Isn't that list a bit like the list of "By royal appointment" companies, who supply the Queen with goods and services? So they aren't solely on call to the palace, just called upon if ever they're required?

@CallmeHendricks this is correct - you can google the individuals if you like. For example the “Surgeon Oculist to the Queen” was for many years one Mr Jonathan Jagger, who was a consultant at the Royal Free Hospital, and saw the Queen as needed on top of his day job.

She has a Crown Jeweller too, who looks after her jewels, and the Crown Jewels. For many years it was a guy with a shop in Tunbridge Wells.

As I said... happy to be corrected.

It was just a point of discussion.