Is the NHS useless?

[Guest]

Prevention is down to individual in the main though isn't it? Think how much the NHS would save if people ate better, excercised more and didn't get hammered every Saturday night. Obviously our social care costs would go through the roof but you get my point.

 

I read your posts in Dave Angels voice.

[onewheeldave]

Prevention is down to individual in the main though isn't it?

No. We need a health strategy focused on prevention and education as to what healthy foods are.

 

Currently food industry advertisers and celebrity chefs seem to be in charge of the education side of things.

 

The NHS is not up to the job, if only because it doesn't know what foods are healthy, and, to the extent it does, it's efforts to educate are clearly far from optimal.

 

Banning all advertising would go a long way to getting health education on the right track, as well as benefiting society in innumerable ways.

[unbeliever]

No. We need a health strategy focused on prevention and education as to what healthy foods are.

 

Currently food industry advertisers and celebrity chefs seem to be in charge of the education side of things.

 

The NHS is not up to the job, if only because it doesn't know what foods are healthy, and, to the extent it does, it's efforts to educate are clearly far from optimal.

 

Banning all advertising would go a long way to getting health education on the right track, as well as benefiting society in innumerable ways.

 

If only there was a consensus as to what was healthy.

There's a lot of research of late, which I believe, suggesting that our greatest enemy is refined sugar. We should all stop worrying about fat and worry about simple carbs. If we've been following the medical/state advice about health for the last few decades we've been led substantially astray.

The WHO has just announced that we should worry eating red meat, or e'll get cancer, but failed to say anything on the subject of sugar. For this, it has been rightly condemned by experts around the world.

Until the PTB make up their mind what the advice is, there's little hope of getting people to follow it.

[Ms Macbeth]

No use I'm afraid, these are funded by Social Care to meet daily living needs resulting from a mental health condition, you can't use them to pay for therapy. Plus they've been cut right back. Personal Health Budgets may be an option although they are in their infancy and the CCG haven't really got their head around them yet.

 

Thanks for that, I'm not familiar with how these Budgets work, was just looking for options or add-ons that might run alongside the NHS.

[Guest]

The WHO has just announced that we should worry eating red meat, or e'll get cancer, .

 

I wont get fooled by that again.

[onewheeldave]

If only there was a consensus as to what was healthy.

We don't need a consensus, we need the truth (a consensus is worse than useless if everyone's agreed on things that aren't true).

 

---------- Post added 01-11-2015 at 18:51 ----------

 

There's a lot of research of late, which I believe, suggesting that our greatest enemy is refined sugar. We should all stop worrying about fat and worry about simple carbs. If we've been following the medical/state advice about health for the last few decades we've been led substantially astray.

The WHO has just announced that we should worry eating red meat, or e'll get cancer, but failed to say anything on the subject of sugar. For this, it has been rightly condemned by experts around the world.

Until the PTB make up their mind what the advice is, there's little hope of getting people to follow it.

 

There's very little decent evidence that refined sugar is an issue.

 

There's loads of evidence showing that animal produce causes cancer, heart disease (possibly diabetes), strokes etc.

 

Several studies showing 'high fructose corn syrup' is possibly problematic. Abundant evidence that cultures who eat lots of processed 'food' suffer way more heart disease/cancer/diabetes than cultures who eat unprocessed, mainly plant-based diets.

 

No-one has to wait for any official health organisation to make up their mind- the facts are out there and anyone can choose to follow that diet and be healthy. Bear in mind advice from official sources will (as it has in the past) be heavily influenced by the extensive financial interests of the food industry.

 

---------- Post added 01-11-2015 at 18:58 ----------

 

No use I'm afraid, these are funded by Social Care to meet daily living needs resulting from a mental health condition, you can't use them to pay for therapy. Plus they've been cut right back. Personal Health Budgets may be an option although they are in their infancy and the CCG haven't really got their head around them yet..

 

 

 

Thanks for that, I'm not familiar with how these Budgets work, was just looking for options or add-ons that might run alongside the NHS.

 

There are funding sources available to disabled people that can be used for therapy. 'Access to work' for example, though a case would have to be made for why the therapy is wanted using, say, evidence from a physiotherapist.

[Bob Arctor]

How would this help you in your present case?

 

You seem to have switched from niche provision to overall value and quality. In a private system there is no guarantee that anything will be provided, the only guarantee is that profitable services will be provided. For this reason there are very few totally private health systems.

 

Looking at the USA as an example which I guess is closest to what you argue for there are categories of health provision that the private sector hardly provides. Burns units for example, which have an unpredictable rate of usage but are extremely expensive to maintain as a standing service when idle. Not profitable enough!

 

Taking another system is an example in Switzerland there is compulsory insurance but it does not cover every treatment category. To get the treatments you describe you would have to top up the basic premium above the approx £200-250 per month per adult basic insurance cost.

 

These are good points. If not enough people want DBT or other treatments then a profit-driven business isn't going to offer them, regardless of whether some people would really benefit. The private healthcare companies who are currently circling the NHS aren't discussing in their board meetings how they can provide the best possible healthcare to the people of the UK, they are discussing how they can make the most money.

[ez8004]

Don't agree with the OP at all. I recently had neck surgery at the Royal Hallamshire by one of the best endocrine surgeons in north of the country. I had the surgery when it was convienient for me and didn't need to wait. The surgery was a complete success with zero complications. The surgeon was completely transparent with all the risks involved.

 

I also have a medical exemption certificate and don't have to pay for any prescription charges ever.

 

The NHS is perfect for me.

[Beauchiefs]

I'm not rich, but I earn enough that I'm paying significantly more total tax than the national average. We're making our contribution and we've always been content to do it. I like the idea that people no matter what their status have access to healthcare, and I've always supported it even though I know I'd be paying a lot less tax without it.

 

I'm starting this thread because I'm extremely angry that whenever my family needs healthcare it's either not available on the NHS so we have to pay ourselves, or the NHS charges for it.

What the hell! What on earth have I been paying for all these years?

 

I have a family member with asthma. We have to pay £17/month so that somebody I love can have £6/month worth of medication to keep them alive.

 

I have a family member with a serious mental health problem. Just forked out almost £400 for 90 mins with a psychiatrist because the NHS won't help. Maybe an under-qualified counsellor in a matter of months or a GP without a clue as to what they're doing will hand out some pills, which we have to pay for again, which are more likely to worsen the problem.

 

I can barely afford to pay the healthcare costs for my family. A big part of this is that I'm paying massive taxes for a compulsory healthcare program, which itself then charges me again when I try and use it, or just flat out doesn't cover my family's medical needs. What on earth is going on?

 

I'm frankly fed up with it. I give up. Shut down the NHS. I'll have my taxes back. Then I'll be able to afford the healthcare my family needs and buy food at the same time.

 

Shutting down the NHS is not the answer to your problems.

The NHS satisfactorily treats millions of people every year.

[onewheeldave]

The NHS satisfactorily treats millions of people every year.

 

It also maintains millions of people on unnecessary life-long symptom-management drugs and seriously damages the health of millions through it's lack of focus on preventative health.

 

That will take a long time to change due to the fact that maintaining a sick population is much more profitable than a population that is healthy, for the vested interests (eg pharmaceutical companies) who are deeply tied into the health service and very influential in any decision making.

 

Just as hospitals have to house shops that sell 'foods' medically proven to be extremely injurous to health (because they need the extra funds such sources provide), equally it has to appease the other private interests who provide much of it's funding, even if a healthy nation is counter to those companies interests.

 

On the positive side, more and more people are now becoming aware that the chronic illnesses that plague the developed nations i.e. heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer etc, are, in the main, caused by diet &, easily avoidable (via diet).

Edited November 1, 2015 by onewheeldave