For help, advice and discussion about stuff not related to aviation. Play nice: no religion, no politics and no axe grinding please.
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#1870020
JAFO wrote:
TravellerBob wrote:@JAFO do you find calling people halfwits changes their mind often?


Not trying to change anyone's mind, Bob.

Gotcha.

Just insulting people who have a different view to you.

Roger. :thumleft:

I had hoped we were better than that, but evidence herein suggests not.
Spooky liked this
#1870029
Today's overseas foray: Europe

"France ex-health minister under investigation" -
'..over the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. Prosecutors looking into government failings are investigating Agnès Buzyn for "endangering the lives of others".. special court set up in France in 1993 to investigate government ministers accused of misconduct will decide whether to prosecute her. The wording of one of the charges being investigated is "failing to fight a disaster", according to Le Monde...'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-58523027

"90% of adults in Republic of Ireland now fully vaccinated90% of adults in Republic of Ireland now fully vaccinated"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-58522792

"Isle of Man death toll rises to 48 after data reviewed"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe ... n-58518654

"Merkel legacy: EU's queen with a tarnished crown"
- ' ..provoked a deep north-south divide within the EU. A divide that reappeared during the migrant crisis and at the start of the Covid pandemic - with southern Europeans feeling abandoned, to face the brunt of these emergencies. Until they no longer were. Largely thanks again to Angela Merkel, even if she tended to act very late in the day... The Covid-19 crisis, unlike the euro crisis before it, persuaded her that richer countries like Germany should indeed shoulder debts of poorer EU countries, in this case those suffering disproportionate economic effects of the pandemic. In so doing, she set a striking precedent in the EU..'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-58498231

"Venice Film Festival: .."
- '..The 78th edition of the world's oldest film festival wrapped up on Saturday night, with international celebrities **** to Venice's red carpet. The ceremony was a stark contrast to last year's event, when guests had to wear masks during screenings and around half of the seats on the Lido waterfront were left empty due to the coronavirus pandemic. ..'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-58533531

.. and for a bit of personal nostalgia .. :oops:

"Pandemic Institute: Liverpool research base opens"
- '..The institute is a partnership between the University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool City Council and its city region combined authority. ..'

My first airline job was with British Eagle at Speke. An occasional urgent Air Freight request (for which we did not charge) was to carry on the next Heathrow flight (typically, 4-6 daily, IIRC, Viscount or 1-11) a package of something urgent from the LSTM to be transferred to a flight going somewhere distant, eg in Africa or South America. I gathered these might be antitoxin, antiserum etc, something of which the LSTM was a major or sometimes sole stockist, with a global reputation often little known in the city.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-m ... e-58543721
MikeB liked this
#1870030
Back on topic, should Scotland go on the UK's red travel list?

The UK is only so high on the graph because Scotland has more than twice the infection level of the red listed countries below.

Image
User avatar
By Flyin'Dutch'
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1870038
I am not sure I understand why GP colleagues in the UK find it difficult to see patients FTF.

Surely, a fair few issues can be dealt with over the phone or video consultation but a great many cannot. Some of my GP friends in the UK are happily seeing folks as before where there is a clinical indication, but from what I see on here and hear elsewhere that is not universally the case.

The chronic lack of NHS capacity, further exacerbated by the treatment delays caused by the C19 pandemic, are storing up big problems for years to come. There are currently 5.6 Million people on the waiting list for further treatment - that is nearly 10% of the UK population. Let that sink in.

The sad thing is that behind those numbers are real people suffering, both from poorer health, or worse, but also the anxiety and stress associated with having to wait for treatment you know is necessary.
#1870045
@TravellerBob - If you feel that it applies to you and you wish to take offence then that is very much your choice but I'm not insulting anyone. I am stating fact.

There is a global pandemic of a respiratory disease which is spread largely through droplets and aerosols. Wearing a mask in enclosed spaces where it may be spread by aerosol transmission or in places where physical distancing is difficult and may lead to transmission by droplets or aerosol is sensible and should really be no more than simple common sense.

My OED describes someone who is half-witted as being senseless or lacking in common sense. Therefore that description fits those who refuse without good reason to wear masks in places where physical distancing is problematical or in enclosed areas where aerosol transmission is more likely.

I wasn't insulting anyone and I certainly wasn't trying to change anyone's mind.
#1870052
Flyin'Dutch' wrote:The chronic lack of NHS capacity, further exacerbated by the treatment delays caused by the C19 pandemic, are storing up big problems for years to come. There are currently 5.6 Million people on the waiting list for further treatment - that is nearly 10% of the UK population. Let that sink in.

We know you have a real bug in your butt about England and her people, however here's some 2021 data not just feelies:

The OECD measured wait times in several countries, specifically:

The share of people who sometimes, rarely, or never get an answer from their regular doctor's office.
The share of people waiting one month or more for a specialist appointment.


    country // percent waiting > 1 day for doctor
    Canada 33
    United States 28
    Sweden 24
    Norway 22
    United Kingdom 21
    New Zealand 17
    Australia 14
    Netherlands 13
    Germany 13
    Switzerland 12

and

    country // percent waiting > 1 month for specialist
    Canada 61
    Norway 61
    Sweden 52
    New Zealand 48
    United Kingdom 41
    Australia 39
    United States 27
    Netherlands 25
    Germany 25
    Switzerland 23

UK not the best or worst, pretty much exactly where most sensible people would see it actually.

Data from here: https://worldpopulationreview.com/count ... by-country
#1870053
I don't know where those numbers came from but the UK ones are nothing I would recognise. My local surgery is taking a couple of weeks to provide a telephone appointment and a couple after that if they deem you worthy of a FTF.
If you cannot see a GP to be referred to a specialist, the wait times for that specialist are also worthless.
flybymike liked this
#1870057
Flyin'Dutch' wrote:I am not sure I understand why GP colleagues in the UK find it difficult to see patients FTF.

Surely, a fair few issues can be dealt with over the phone or video consultation but a great many cannot. Some of my GP friends in the UK are happily seeing folks as before where there is a clinical indication, but from what I see on here and hear elsewhere that is not universally the case.


I might now have a jaundiced view of GP services, and I am only speculating from observation of how my personal surgery has changed in character over the last few years, but I wonder whether the number of women GPs who are working part-time, presumably to combine with child care responsibilities, is at least partly to blame. A cynic would suspect that the pandemic (and advice given at the start by the BMA) might have been a convenient hook on which to hang a new style of working from home via video or photograph link?

I wonder whether things will ever return to pre-pandemic operation of GP services in many surgeries. The situation seems to be worse in cities than it is in more rural locations.

PW
flybymike liked this
#1870060
Flyingfemme wrote:I don't know where those numbers came from but the UK ones are nothing I would recognise. My local surgery is taking a couple of weeks to provide a telephone appointment and a couple after that if they deem you worthy of a FTF.

I posted the link so you could test the veracity of the data I presented. You and Propwash must be in the '21%'. :thumleft:
#1870066
Flyin'Dutch' wrote:I am not sure I understand why GP colleagues in the UK find it difficult to see patients FTF.

Surely, a fair few issues can be dealt with over the phone or video consultation but a great many cannot. Some of my GP friends in the UK are happily seeing folks as before where there is a clinical indication, but from what I see on here and hear elsewhere that is not universally the case.

The chronic lack of NHS capacity, further exacerbated by the treatment delays caused by the C19 pandemic, are storing up big problems for years to come. There are currently 5.6 Million people on the waiting list for further treatment - that is nearly 10% of the UK population. Let that sink in.

The sad thing is that behind those numbers are real people suffering, both from poorer health, or worse, but also the anxiety and stress associated with having to wait for treatment you know is necessary.



I can't weigh it up at all FD, it's very odd. I've personally had a great experience of shingles being diagnosed by email and photos during lockdown. Just what I wanted really, minimum interaction and wasted time (for both of us) to confirm my suspicion and a prescription waiting at the chemist.

Mrs E's practice has been open throughout albeit with stricter appointments than usual. Maybe more phone triage and zoom consultations but no real change for patients if they really needed to go in.

On the the other hand my dad has tried for weeks to get through to his surgery on the phone and knocking on the door gets "you can't come in, you'll have to ring for an appointment". The local Facebook group has a massive thread with hundreds of similar complaints. Dad's given up trying and luckily its merely debilitating, not life threatening but he's pretty much opted himself out of the system at a time in life when he should be taking a bit more care of himself.
Last edited by eltonioni on Mon Sep 13, 2021 2:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
TravellerBob, flybymike liked this
#1870069
eltonioni wrote:...a fair few issues can be dealt with over the phone or video consultation but a great many cannot.

This is the nub of the issue, and all the while GPs have a God complex which leads their Rottweiler admins to believe they're doing God's work that problem will persist. If I'd wanted an opinion on which toner to buy I'd discuss it with admin.

Fortunately you and I must be in the 79%
#1870076
@TravellerBob I'd suggest being a bit nicer to the admin team. They are paid crappy wages to deal with some very crappy people in a really crappy system. A kind word, or better still a tin of biscuits at Christmas might even make the difference between you getting a just-about-sanitised bed in your local general hospital or a luxury suite in the private one for that upcoming colonoscopy.
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