The Night Mail

[AndyID]

1 hour ago, Steamport Southport said:

 

Again. What are you on about?

 

I've not complained about the cost....

 

I just said it would have been better in private hands and was fine when it was under the stewardship of Riley's.

 

I would rather the NRM had spent the money on overhauling the Coronation instead of Flying Scotsman.

 

For the record. I've put my money where my mouth is numerous times and currently supporting three new build projects financially. That's as well as being part owner of a few locomotives*....

 

 

*Nothing substantial, but those few hundred pounds here and there soon add up

 

 

Jason

 

Meanwhile it seems the NHS is falling apart. Only sayin' 🤣

 

(There is no such thing as "free" healthcare.)

[Tony_S]

11 minutes ago, AndyID said:

Meanwhile it seems the NHS is falling apart. Only sayin' 🤣

Unfortunately it depends somewhat on your postcode. I have had excellent experiences even during Covid for my many ailments. The appointment I had today with my GP wasn’t one I made, she wanted to talk to me about my recent diabetic condition “lapse”. Aditi’s appointment tomorrow was also initiated by the GP surgery to discuss blood pressure.   
Recent delays in South London were caused by cyber attacks by Russian criminal gangs. My access to certain diabetic medications isn’t going to happen as private weight control clinics are buying it all.  
Waiting list times  have risen considerably since 2010. Austerity budgets affected all public services. It is quite simple, less money less services. 

[AndyID]

1 minute ago, Tony_S said:

Austerity budgets affected all public services. It is quite simple, less money less services. 

 

That's my point. Modern healthcare keeps people alive but it's also extremely expensive. Here we are very aware of the actual cost of any treatment. No doubt the NHS could be more efficient but the actual costs are largely invisible to the patients,

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[Dave Hunt]

I think that we could discuss the NHS and healthcare from now until next year and not come to a real conclusion about what is to be done. What we probably can reach agreement on is that the present model is not now fit for purpose and some radical change is required but as to what that should be is something that we collectively are not able to decide on. As with most things in life, I would imagine that consultation with a wide range of experienced professionals will be needed but that will require politicians to ignore the dogma and self interest that seems to beset them. 
 

Dave

[BR60103]

Someone in Dad's family (one of the females, I suspect) gave us a portrait of his Great-uncle George because they thought it looked like him (probably the moustache).  My sister now has the picture and asked who George really was.  I looked at dad's ancestry charts and found there were two Georges in the appropriate generation.

 

 

[polybear]

6 hours ago, Tony_S said:

My access to certain diabetic medications isn’t going to happen as private weight control clinics are buying it all.  

 
There should be a law that blocks that from happening - NHS first (without having to pay a premium for it), with any spare sold to private clinics etc.

[polybear]

7 hours ago, BMS said:

c) Add Paddington (Bear of course! - to avoid confusing those of a non-GWR disposition!) ).

 

He’s not doing too bad a job in Ukraine at the moment.

[iL Dottore]

4 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

I think that we could discuss the NHS and healthcare from now until next year and not come to a real conclusion about what is to be done. What we probably can reach agreement on is that the present model is not now fit for purpose and some radical change is required but as to what that should be is something that we collectively are not able to decide on. As with most things in life, I would imagine that consultation with a wide range of experienced professionals will be needed but that will require politicians to ignore the dogma and self interest that seems to beset them. 
 

Dave

Indeed.

Although the NHS does need more money for new equipment and more staff, there are many failures in the system that are not down to inadequate funds, such as:

• Confirmation letters for long awaited appointments arriving after the date of the appointment.
• GPs not being sent results of scans, lab work or summary letters from consultants in a timely manner
• An often toxic work culture (it was reported that when the physicians first suspected that something was amiss in the Lucy Letby case they were “forced to apologise” to Letby by management - who continued to ignore concerns https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-66120934#:~:text=The hospital's top manager demanded,suspected she was killing babies)

The UK does need to have a grownup discussion about what is the purpose of  the NHS in the 2020s, how it can be better funded, how it can be better managed and how it can be better run.

 

The NHS has become akin to a religion to many in the UK, and like with religions many myths have arisen about it’s origins. Most people don’t realise that the NHS was the end result of a cross party working group set up in 1943, because of the concerns that the government of the time had about the health of the population. Concerns that came from their worries that they did not have enough healthy and fit people for essential war work and for the military (when the cross-party working group was set up there was no end in sight for the WWII conflict).

It is also claimed that the Conservatives opposed the creation of the NHS - which is not quite true. It was the Conservative Sir Henry Willink, the Health Minister in Churchill’s wartime coalition, that started the process of creating a national health service (a process taken over by Bevan in 1948) and the Conservative party objection to the 1948 bill was not the principle, but potential for runaway costs and the problems of having the service run by Whitehall. An objection shared by many local authorities (such as the LCC - who really gave Bevan a hard time), workers benevolent societies (who also created cottage hospitals and the like) and local voluntary societies, all of whom (and it turned out quite rightly) were concerned about having all control taken over by central government.

But as long as the NHS is uncritically worshipped and “free at the point of use”  (not outcomes and rapidity of access) considered the most important yardstick, then things will never change, even if you put 50% of the GDP into it. 

[iL Dottore]

39 minutes ago, polybear said:

 
There should be a law that blocks that from happening - NHS first (without having to pay a premium for it), with any spare sold to private clinics etc.

Why?

It’s a free market economy - for good and for ill. Why should any company, no matter what they make or produce, be forced to sell a product for the lowest possible price?*

 

If you do so, the company is likely to scale back production to the bare minimum (so, for example, reduce the production of ham and cheese pizza [profit 1p per pizza] and concentrate on the production of prosciutto and aged parmesan pizza [profit 15p per pizza] instead) or even stop production.

 

And as much as many will love to rail against “big bad pharma”, the truth is even generics companies and OTC companies (and many other companies besides) are finding the UK - post Brexit - to be (to put it charitably) a “problematic” market.

 

Why bother to deal with all the post-Brexit bureaucratic hassle of getting a product into the UK for a measly few pennies net profit per item, when you have a huge market (with one size fits all bureaucracy) that will provide a better return (net profit) on each item sold?

 

* which is very different to coming to an agreement with a company whereby the company agrees to provide X at £Y per unit (discount price) in return for a minimum guaranteed order of no less than N thousand (or million) units

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

 
There should be a law that blocks that from happening - NHS first (without having to pay a premium for it), with any spare sold to private clinics etc.

The same is happening in France and I believe that it is a worldwide problem. 

 

Jamie

[DenysW]

10 hours ago, BMS said:

"None of the above" as an option on the voting slip;

Whilst attractive as a concept, I've never understood what happens when this choice wins every seat. In the UK this time round a clear majority for this option seems certain if it was on offer - the question would be more which candidates didn't loose their deposits, not the other way round.

 

There are a lot of things wrong with the US system, but at least Primaries provide a safety valve when The Party decides to parachute in a loyalist/lunatic/both-at-once into what is regarded as a 'safe' seat.

[Dave Hunt]

Just off to the market then this afternoon I’ve a Zoom meeting with some friends. It’s quite a nice day here in North Hipposhire with a forecast high of 27 degrees later so no need for the thermals. We were chatting with a friend yesterday who has just returned from the Phillipines and said that the temperature there when she left was 56 degrees. Phew!

 

Dave

[Dave Hunt]

Since my last post the day has started disintegrating. The vacuum cleaner “ isn’t sucking up properly so you’ll have to have a look at it.” Bu**er.

 

Dave

[Happy Hippo]

18 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

Just off to the market then this afternoon I’ve a Zoom meeting with some friends.

I have lots of Zoom meetings.  Trouble is it's when I'm in the garden or in the car.....

 

Talking to myself.....

13 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

Since my last post the day has started disintegrating. The vacuum cleaner “ isn’t sucking up properly so you’ll have to have a look at it.” Bu**er.

Welcome to my world

[Happy Hippo]

Yesterday was  rather leisurely.

 

I dropped off the air tank for testing then it was off to the  BRMC Workshop day at Llandrinio, where I met up with Coastalview and managed to have a long chat.

 

He was industrious and at work with the 4mm brigade, whilst I pointed out that the expensive suspended floor in the village hall was more like rolling countryside than a billiard table.

 

Chris had to go to Attingham Park on NT duties, and I returned home to do some light heave ho, in the form of moving stuff from the shade of the orchard to the shade of my workshop.

 

The trip to Newport did happen, although we decided to do the full recce for the rangers town walk nearer to the date, so the trip was more to do with picking up a first aid kit and going to Aldi for 'stuff'.

 

Today, I am supposed to be doing some light digging out in the garden in order to put some ornamental edging in place.

 

I intend to deploy my shooting marquee in order to give myself some overhead protection.

 

Otherwise I have to apply sun block:

 

 

 

 

 

[Willie Whizz]

9 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

I think that we could discuss the NHS and healthcare from now until next year and not come to a real conclusion about what is to be done. What we probably can reach agreement on is that the present model is not now fit for purpose and some radical change is required but as to what that should be is something that we collectively are not able to decide on. As with most things in life, I would imagine that consultation with a wide range of experienced professionals will be needed but that will require politicians to ignore the dogma and self interest that seems to beset them. 
 

Dave

,” I would imagine that consultation with a wide range of experienced professionals will be needed but that will require politicians those experienced professionals to ignore the dogma and self interest that seems to beset them. “

There, fixed that for you. 
 

There is more than one set of “dogma and self interest” in play here, I’m afraid. 

[Hroth]

1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

Since my last post the day has started disintegrating. The vacuum cleaner “ isn’t sucking up properly so you’ll have to have a look at it.” Bu**er.

 

Dave

 

"Mmmmmmm....  I like the way you use me"

 

Oh, not that way of sucking up?🤔

 

[polybear]

5 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Why?

It’s a free market economy - for good and for ill. Why should any company, no matter what they make or produce, be forced to sell a product for the lowest possible price?*

 

If you do so, the company is likely to scale back production to the bare minimum (so, for example, reduce the production of ham and cheese pizza [profit 1p per pizza] and concentrate on the production of prosciutto and aged parmesan pizza [profit 15p per pizza] instead) or even stop production.

 

And as much as many will love to rail against “big bad pharma”, the truth is even generics companies and OTC companies (and many other companies besides) are finding the UK - post Brexit - to be (to put it charitably) a “problematic” market.

 

Why bother to deal with all the post-Brexit bureaucratic hassle of getting a product into the UK for a measly few pennies net profit per item, when you have a huge market (with one size fits all bureaucracy) that will provide a better return (net profit) on each item sold?

 

* which is very different to coming to an agreement with a company whereby the company agrees to provide X at £Y per unit (discount price) in return for a minimum guaranteed order of no less than N thousand (or million) units

Shouldn’t such drugs go to where they’re needed for good clinical reasons first, rather than for those (I suspect in many cases) looking to take “the easy/quick way out” (such as weight loss, or perhaps for cosmetic reasons) rather than doing it the proper way - such as eating “the right things” (try not to laugh iD…), dieting and exercise.

 

As for pricing, I reckon drug companies have done ok (and continue to do so) simply by the amount ordered; I daresay there is price haggling involved but huge orders at less % profit must still be pretty lucrative.

 

Yours,

Bear

(who walked 7.75 miles yesterday….)

[iL Dottore]

28 minutes ago, polybear said:

Shouldn’t such drugs go to where they’re needed for good clinical reasons first, rather than for those (I suspect in many cases) looking to take “the easy/quick way out” (such as weight loss, or perhaps for cosmetic reasons) rather than doing it the proper way - such as eating “the right things” (try not to laugh iD…), dieting and exercise.

I would agree, however what we have now (often) is the “medicalisation of the normal” Instead of you being a “chunky monkey” who could do with loosing a few pounds through eating sensibly and modest exercise, you now have a “condition” or “syndrome” that requires medication. And as ever, “money talks”.

 

Perversely, you also have the reverse: the “normalisation of the pathological” with morbidly obese “body positive” activists claiming that being 22 stone and 5ft 4in is perfectly normal and healthy,

 

Obesity, doncha know, is a patriarchal concept created by white male doctors who want to disempower women, especially plus sized women. Yes, you can be 28 stone and be healthy and beautiful….

….. And if you do diet, you are being racist and bigoted and part of the oppressive white male dominated scam called medicine*

 

* don’t laugh, I’ve read about “body positive” and “plus sized” activists spouting this nonsense.

[Winslow Boy]

3 hours ago, Willie Whizz said:

,” I would imagine that consultation with a wide range of experienced professionals will be needed but that will require politicians those experienced professionals to ignore the dogma and self interest that seems to beset them. “

There, fixed that for you. 
 

There is more than one set of “dogma and self interest” in play here, I’m afraid. 

I know why don't we just ask A.I what to do or would that just end up with a super duper big computer.

[Winslow Boy]

3 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

Yesterday was  rather leisurely.

 

I dropped off the air tank for testing then it was off to the  BRMC Workshop day at Llandrinio, where I met up with Coastalview and managed to have a long chat.

 

He was industrious and at work with the 4mm brigade, whilst I pointed out that the expensive suspended floor in the village hall was more like rolling countryside than a billiard table.

 

Chris had to go to Attingham Park on NT duties, and I returned home to do some light heave ho, in the form of moving stuff from the shade of the orchard to the shade of my workshop.

 

The trip to Newport did happen, although we decided to do the full recce for the rangers town walk nearer to the date, so the trip was more to do with picking up a first aid kit and going to Aldi for 'stuff'.

 

Today, I am supposed to be doing some light digging out in the garden in order to put some ornamental edging in place.

 

I intend to deploy my shooting marquee in order to give myself some overhead protection.

 

Otherwise I have to apply sun block:

 

 

 

 

 

So what Mud Factor is that?

[jamie92208]

Yippee, car has passed it's CT so has another two years of life unless something expensive goes bang.  Grass mowed then the postie delivered no less than four comics, ©Chrisf,, so I will have something to read whilst waiting with Beth for appointments this afternoon.  I can't win. Either I get told off for talking about boring stuff or for reading a magazine and not talking. 

 

Jamie

Edited June 26 by jamie92208

[zarniwhoop]

57 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

I know why don't we just ask A.I what to do or would that just end up with a super duper big computer.

I think we're already in the big computer - designed by Deep Thought.

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, Winslow Boy said:

So what Mud Factor is that?

Squelch 75