Private!

[nightingale-56]

As has been mooted on here a few times in the past year or so, this morning my GP has at long last admitted to me that the Government are going to make NHS Private. She did not say when but that we would have to have Health Insurance. I always thought that Private Health Insurance do not want to know about treatment once you have been diagnosed with Thyroid problems. I think it will have to be a special kind of insurance for us all to be able to use it, and would we then be able to access better Thyroid meds? All that 's as maybe, it takes a long time for the wheels of government to turn!

In the meantime why do we have to have such bad medication when we have been on a better one that did not cause problems? I know it is down to money, but the current ones are causing such bad effects and not even giving the same blood results as previous. Time for some letter-writing/appointments at MP's surgeries I think. Janet.

[Slj1970]

Worth a read....

liberalconspiracy.org/2013/...

[nightingale-56 in reply to Slj1970]

Thank you slj. This has passed me by and I read two newspapers a day and watch the News on TV. Janet.

[Hidden]

Re insurance, in america and south africa, u may no longer be discriminated against for having pre existing med conditions. They are not allowed to ask u as it is discriminatory. Uk is so far behind, i doubt anti discriminatory measures will have been introduced here by the time this compulsory insurance , or whatever they are going to call the new health 'care' system, rolls around.

[nightingale-56 in reply to Hidden]

Just wish they'd be a bit more open with us. Janet.

[Ctb567]

What does your GP mean that they're making the NHS private? Like our health care system is going backwards to a system like the Americans have and we'd all need health insurance? Or we'd still pay the same NI its just private companies will be taking over hospitals? I've never really understood this whole privatization of the NHS

[nightingale-56 in reply to Ctb567]

Goodness knows what they mean Carly. Don't suppose taxes and rates will go down whatever they mean. Janet.

[JanW]

I think I agree with you that the government are going to make the NHS private they have so much control pensions now for instance a ‘benefit’ i.e. they can do what they want with them change the goal posts as they are the NHS. A £20 fee to see the doctor has already been mooted and we all know things are changing with doctors and the inability these days to just pick up the phone and ask for an appointment. . I’ve had a few health issues recently and my practise which has two surgeries’ seem to be diagnosing everyone on the phone i.e. you can’t see a doctor until they ring you back and explain the problem, then they prescribe meds to pick up. When I did finally get in to see the doctor the surgery had only one person there - usually packed. Ditto when I had my blood tests there was me and one other it felt a bit spooky and makes you wonder what’s going on. The rigmarole pushed my health problem back weeks until I was finally diagnosed at hospital last week having waited 6 long weeks in discomfort for the appointment.

[nightingale-56 in reply to JanW]

So sorry to hear of your discomfort Jan. I have had 4 years of not knowing what was happening, but now know it to be the meds that are causing problems. Janet.

[JanW in reply to nightingale-56]

Hi Janet thanks for response, yes awful the way the NHS are going 4 years is a very long time to wait when you're worried about your health. I hope you feel better now. Jan

[Glynisrose]

No, can't be done.

[galathea in reply to Glynisrose]

Oh I hope it can be done. A private health system where we all have insurance would mean that the doctors would know they are working for us, and that we are not just pests who disrupt their working day. We would be able to select which doctor we see and the poor ones would soon be redundant. Of course, there should be some sort of basic safety net, but only offering basic preventative and remedial work.... Pretty much the same way as the Nhs dental system now works.

[nightingale-56 in reply to galathea]

I agree, but only if you can afford it and the basic safety net would surely be what we are getting now! The Dental System just get dearer and dearer and where once you only saw the Hygienist once a year, it is now requested that you see them about 4 times a year and costs £48. each time! Janet.

[galathea in reply to nightingale-56]

Some of the dental insurance schemes cover you for hygienist visits so you effectively get your stake money back.... I gave up with the insurance though and now allocate about £800 pounds a year. The basic safety net for the Nhs is not enforced... Some people still get costly, none life saving operations for free if they know how to use the system.

[nightingale-56 in reply to Glynisrose]

Hi Glynisrose, this is just what my husband says, but something is definitely going on right now. J

[HarryE]

While I don't think the NHS should be private, as in profit-making, I do think it could learn a lot from proper business market practices. For example, using its buying power to properly manage procurement etc. A business would never allow the financial waste that goes on in the NHS. The one hospital that is being run by a private company at present is a roaring success by all accounts.

[HarryE in reply to HarryE]

hinchingbrooke.nhs.uk/hinch...

[nightingale-56 in reply to HarryE]

I knew it was this one. How good could it all get, but would we be allowed decent meds. Janet.

[sazzyb in reply to HarryE]

I agree Harry, I worked in the NHS 30 years ago and even then the financial waste was gobsmacking.

[HarryE in reply to sazzyb]

It still is

[sazzyb in reply to HarryE]

I was watching James Martin's 'Operation Hospital Food' series recently. He did a stint at the Royal Orthopaedic in Birmingham. I forget which dish the hospital staff were making in their brand new state-of-the-art kitchen but on one item alone they were found to be wasting £½ million a year - double cream!! Staggering. It seems they weren't using a recipe but were just adding a bit of this and a bit of that. The reason given by the hospital for the food waste was the original kitchen was burned down in a fire so portacabins had to be used. 'Their brand new kitchen was installed in 2011 but staff morale was low. The chefs had got used to working from temporary cabins so when they got the new kitchen, they didn’t know how to make use of the fantastic new facilities to its full benefit.' I think that's one of the most pathetic excuses I've ever heard. Millions and millions of pounds go down hospital drains every year, but nothing changes.

[nightingale-56 in reply to sazzyb]

My Mum worked for NHS in the 50's and 60's and it was much better. It appears to me that with the 'breaking up piecemeal' seemed to make it worse. Janet.

[nightingale-56 in reply to HarryE]

I agree with all you have said Harry and would love them all to be run as per the one being run by a private company. So good to hear. Hope this is the way they go. Janet.

[nightingale-56]

Thanks everyone for your input, but as usual the answers have come up in all the wrong places. Having real problems with this site at the moment. Janet.

[Hidden]

Oh, galathea! Please be careful what you wish for. There are so many Americans on HU and other health sites who would be delighted to get NHS even with all it's current faults. Many of them either can't afford med insurance or find their insurance won't cover what's needed.

What we need is for the government to stop making cutbacks to the NHS. If you want private healthcare, go to bupa, but please don't wish it on the rest of us! Xx

[lilliput in reply to Hidden]

Totally agree. Plus what happens when you are too old/ill to work and cannot afford the premiums. Or twenty quid to see a doctor. I suspect A and E admissions would go up or would there be a charge there? We need to protect the NHS.It is a humane approach to health care for everyone regardless of income.

For someone who has worked and has savings there are no exceptions on dental care, council tax. They only apply to income based job seekers allowance, not contribution based which lasts six months. I had left my job not knowing that I was hypo, just thought it was stress.I still think I did the right thing for me but would definitely not advise it to anyone else as there is no sick pay etc.I had worked there for 22 years. I was beaten down,time off was mentioned on my reference as"minor illness" when I had broncho pneumonia.Employers do not want ill people and will find some way of getting you out.I then claimed £71 pounds a week on job seekers and now work for an agency getting enough money to get by. I've paid ab9out £75 on basic dental treatment recently would have been out of the question if I wasn't well enough to work. I'm getting lots of hours now that my thyroid is more stable. The £20 on £71 aweek would be a problem. I haveno mortgage but could have lost my home if ill sooner. I still would have had savings, so no benefits.

[nightingale-56 in reply to lilliput]

Hi Lilliput, I agree with all you have said as I was self-employed, working from home because I was a carer to my special needs son. I now only get a reduced pension because I did not have enough stamps. This situation was because Home Duties did not count until my son was about 7 (forget when this rule came in) and I did not have enough stamps on my card. I had thought I was paying full stamps when I was at work (before children), but evidently not. A lot of women were in this position I think, and it badly affected our government pension. Janet.

[nightingale-56 in reply to Hidden]

Oh How I agree with you Wasterspace. Not everyone can afford private health care and I am so fed up with the goal-posts keep being changed in this country, but we still keep paying for a top-heavy government who don't really earn their keep. Janet.

[Glynisrose]

We are paying them now to be arrogant and dismissive...

[Glynisrose]

Please remember that though the NHS is free at the point of service we already pay for it!!

[lilliput]

What I find scary is the lack of info on this and the gov bringing in major lifestyle changes with no consultation or warning so it's a fait accompli before anyone can protest. I'm thinking state pension age and long before that charging to see a dentist.Im not sure that protesting would make any difference but it feels that we a living in a dictatorship, not a democracy. We also do pay taxes and NI so the NHS is not completely free and we should have some say where our taxes go.

[Mauds in reply to lilliput]

I hope what has happened here in Ireland does not happen to you all. We pay our tax and PRSI that's suppose to cover our health but if you have a job here in Ireland you're not entitled to any cover even though you pay it through your tax. If I had to stay in hospital it's 100 euro a day. To see my gp is 50 per visit. If I need bloods it's 25 for the nurse to take the bloods all of this was introduced without any thought or care as to how we would be able to pay. If I turned up at A&E tomorrow it would cost me 120 euro and we were suppose to have a free health service. I really hope you all get a chance to vote against this. I also have to pay for all my meds no help anywhere and I'm on minimum wage so is my husband

[nightingale-56 in reply to Mauds]

How frightening Mauds, although it definitely does look like this is the way this government are taking us. It would not be so bad paying for meds that worked, but they cause more trouble than the original illness usually! Janet.

[nightingale-56 in reply to lilliput]

Do you think the government will give us a refund! Bit by bit they change things and it is always for the worse. Janet.

[Hidden]

38 degrees is an online pressure group that has had quite a lot of success in reining back the government. They have their own legal team and have tackled many issues especially concerning privatisation of the NHS. They have had quite a lot of Media coverage and the government hate them. If you are concerned, as I am, joining 38 degrees and adding your voice to their campaigns is a step in the right direction. They have done some great work on our behalf already. I'm almost sure I've seen links to their campaigns on HU n occasions. ☺

[nightingale-56 in reply to Hidden]

Have signed a lot of things for 38 degrees and feel most of their campaigns are very worthy. Janet.