The TPU UK Clubhouse

[kurosagi01]

Hypothetically what would actually improve our health care service?
From top to low priority how would you rank these?:
Privatised NHS?
Provide more incentives for future nurses + doctors with the current average salary?
Increase the average salary + offer better incentives?
Continue to try and hire cheap labour?
Improve current facilities?

 

[the54thvoid]

None of the things you mention cover a basic principle of a functioning health system, and that is for people to look after their health. It wouldn't fix the system, but modern culture is practically guided by mass consumerism. That includes alcohol, junk food, sugars, and unhealthy consumables. Folk are quick to cry 'nanny state' when governments try to intervene, but these voices are stirred up by the very same private companies making a fortune out of this very model of over consumption. They literally profit from our over consumption, all the while finding ways to substitute natural (costly) ingredients with synthertic ones.

There are new worries coming though, and those centre around increasing bowel cancer rates in people under 50 - and these rates correlate with changing environmental factors (plastics). Remember - correlate doesn't necessarily mean cause - it means need for further study until the burden of proof is statistically overwhelming.

Above all, sedentary lifestyles lead to a decline in health (mental and physical). It's technically easy to increase our activity, but in motivational terms, it's far harder.

This is posted by someone with 27 years experience in the health and fitness industry.

 

[kurosagi01]

None of the things you mention cover a basic principle of a functioning health system, and that is for people to look after their health. It wouldn't fix the system, but modern culture is practically guided by mass consumerism. That includes alcohol, junk food, sugars, and unhealthy consumables. Folk are quick to cry 'nanny state' when governments try to intervene, but these voices are stirred up by the very same private companies making a fortune out of this very model of over consumption. They literally profit from our over consumption, all the while finding ways to substitute natural (costly) ingredients with synthertic ones.

There are new worries coming though, and those centre around increasing bowel cancer rates in people under 50 - and these rates correlate with changing environmental factors (plastics). Remember - correlate doesn't necessarily mean cause - it means need for further study until the burden of proof is statistically overwhelming.

Above all, sedentary lifestyles lead to a decline in health (mental and physical). It's technically easy to increase our activity, but in motivational terms, it's far harder.

This is posted by someone with 27 years experience in the health and fitness industry.

Yeah I get people should be looking after their health but even if we all do the right thing, what else do we need to do to improve health service?

 

[the54thvoid]

Yeah I get people should be looking after their health but even if we all do the right thing, what else do we need to do to improve health service?

This article looks at it, if you're looking for a proper in-depth read.

The NHS founding principles are still appropriate today and provide a strong foundation for the future

The vision of a comprehensive health service is as relevant today as in the 1940s, but new and different societal challenges require a rethink on how to deliver the NHS as it faces a national health and care emergency The NHS is currently experiencing the gravest crisis in its history. While...

www.bmj.com

As for improving it? Define improve. Regardless, every answer will likely lead to 'funding' or 'cost-cutting.' That's the rub.

 

[Tatty_Two]

Also, the backbone of our health system (infrastructure) was fit for purpose up to the 60's and 70's but are no longer effective enough, without writing a book, the population since 1970 (for example) has gone up by more than 14 million. Another stark comparison is bed numbers (Hospitals/wards), in 1948 when the NHS was born with some 18 million less people there were 480,000 hospital beds, today there are around 122,000.

The data infrastructure is no longer fit for purpose, it managed (just about) when there was 14 + million less patients, Trusts can't access data from other Trusts (when someone moves or has an accident on holiday), Hospitals cannot access data from other hospitals outside their trust and hospitals in the same Trust cannot access GP data from practices within their own trust area. There are plans to rectify the management information systems but this is where the new government is saying it will take 5 to 10 years to achieve anything significant because until there is economic growth there simply won't be the money to fund it and in the meantime Healthcare workers will have to carry on ringing GP practices and hospitals in other parts of the country to try and obtain medical history for a patient who has just walked through the door rather than actually treat patients.

We have many more people accessing healthcare today and despite the large increase in population, as the54thvoid has said, the main reasons are lifestyle choices/poor health, especially for men.

In essence, we are at the point that despite year on year increased investment that without major infrastructure change (including social care) things will only get worse, long queue's outside and inside A&E's in the winter have been happening for the best part of 20 years.

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

IIRC, there was an experiment in the US showing that subsidising a healthy lifestyle cost less than treating the effects of an unhealthy lifestyle.

Paying for gym memberships and healthy food, for example. Over here at least, it is a hell of a lot more expensive to eat healthy.

 

[lexluthermiester]

This article looks at it, if you're looking for a proper in-depth read.

The NHS founding principles are still appropriate today and provide a strong foundation for the future

The vision of a comprehensive health service is as relevant today as in the 1940s, but new and different societal challenges require a rethink on how to deliver the NHS as it faces a national health and care emergency The NHS is currently experiencing the gravest crisis in its history. While...

www.bmj.com

As for improving it? Define improve. Regardless, every answer will likely lead to 'funding' or 'cost-cutting.' That's the rub.

And let's be fair, even with all of it's problems, the general population folks in the UK can at least GET healthcare. Some folks in the US and many other places can't.

 

[AusWolf]

Hypothetically what would actually improve our health care service?
From top to low priority how would you rank these?:
Privatised NHS?
Provide more incentives for future nurses + doctors with the current average salary?
Increase the average salary + offer better incentives?
Continue to try and hire cheap labour?
Improve current facilities?

Incentives, incentives and incentives. There's a labour shortage, people don't want to do anything because nothing pays. Everything is minimum wage. It sucks balls. You can do better staying home on benefits.

Also education. No one can afford to become a doctor unless your parents are doctors too.

Cheap labour and privatisation are a big no, imo. This country as a whole needs to improve on the quality, not the quantity of life.

 

[kurosagi01]

I mean I get what everyone is saying and I agree with you all.
I get the population has increased dramatically but then we have people nowadays don't want to work in the health service. I mean it's hard work and stressful there is no denying that, I just feel there is nothing to incentivise people considering it as a career.
The barrier entry is hard and costly, then the starting average salary isn't entirely massive.
If the average is around 22-45k for a junior doctor, why would someone go through the stress of getting paid that when they could get paid that amount doing a desk job or they will try and get employment in private sector.
Even if we managed to recruit foreign doctors etc, none of them would want to stay here as there nothing to incentivise them and we as people are assholes lol.