Sunday, 19 September 2021
Two Deliveries
1. Placed an Amazon order yesterday for delivery today. This morning our account showed us the times for our delivery slot. The package has just arrived within the delivery slot. The delivery van drove off and seconds later an Amazon email arrived telling us the parcel has been delivered.
2. Placed a medical supplies order yesterday for delivery who knows when because the GP surgery is involved. Off the shelf items but delivery likely to be about three weeks as usual. That's my estimate - they don't have one. There will be no time slot and no email telling me the package has been delivered.
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9 comments:
I would suggest the salient difference here is that one organisation has yet to get hold of your money (you are guaranteed a refund if you don't get the goods) and wants repeat business. The other one, however, has already got your cash.
Envy of the world, as we keep getting told.
(By the way, radio silence from me until the end of the month, as I will be away for 10 days.)
The one 'good' thing to come out of the covid debacle is that the scales should be dropping from a lot of people's eyes about what the priority of the NHS is, and its not them. I am a regular on forum for farmers, and there's a politics section, and its noticeable that whenever the NHS comes up now the numbers of anti NHS vs pro NHS comments is moving heavily in favour of the antis. This didn't used to be the case, anyone attacking the NHS used to be shouted down by a mass of the 'Its the wonder of the world!' brigade. The most common complaint now is that you just can't see a doctor any more.
All of which does give me hope that somewhere there is the kernel of a path to change. A long way in the future no doubt, but given the lack of ability/desire of bodies like the NHS to do anything that is difficult or hard work for them, it highly unlikely that they will reverse many (or even any) of the covid reductions in service, thus continuing to p*ss off ever greater swathes of the public. Given its the elderly who use the NHS above most, and the elderly are a big voting bloc, if they lose faith in the NHS then politics will surely eventually follow that change of view. Look how the current change of policy about social care is driven by the middle class fear of losing their inheritance to care home fees - there was no great campaign movement to reduce the liability of home owners for care fees, but the government have done it anyway, because they know what the middle classes think, and they don't want to be on the wrong side of that opinion. If the middle classes turn against the NHS in a similar manner because they fear their old age will be blighted by lack of NHS care then we will see reforms.
There was a very good article in yesterdays Sunday Telegraph (I think, if not the Saturday edition) that pointed out that the political philosophy of the NHS's creator Nye Bevan was laid out in a book of his writings entitled 'In Place of Fear'. His view was that NHS was supposed to take away the fear of getting sick that people had then. And that fear has now returned, thanks to the NHS, people now are afraid of getting sick, because they know the NHS won't do anything to help them, or it will be a lottery as to whether they even get diagnosed correctly, let alone treated.
No country for old men, the NHSUK.
"No country for old men, the NHSUK"
Ironically the old Neil Kinnock speech about not to be old and ill etc in Thatcher's Britain now applies only far too appropriately to the NHS of today.
Sam - yes, the GP surgery is really keen to give us a well-organised flu vaccination, but of course they are paid for each one.
Sobers - one problem in assessing the NHS seems to be anecdotes about good emergency treatment where the sense of gratitude is very strong. In that case you could be right because as we all know, huge numbers of people have received very late or even no treatment thanks to the coronavirus shambles. It must erode that gratitude.
If there is a growing sense that the NHS won't necessarily be there when needed most, for whatever reason, then things could indeed change.
James - not a happy thought.
"the GP surgery is really keen to give us a well-organised flu vaccination, but of course they are paid for each one"
This is my solution to the GP crisis. Make the only payment a GP gets from the State be for physically consulting with patients. No annual headage payments, payment by results. And let patients consult any GP who will see them, let the money follow the patient. I bet then you'd see GP surgeries open in the evenings and at weekends, just to get more £££ in. And allow co-pays - for example if a GP wants to offer a home visit service for an extra fee above the State mandated one, let them do so. GPs are already private contractors, introduce a bit of free market competition.
Sobers - in other words an Insurance based system as elsewhere in Europe and other places. (The US is insane in its own way).
Sobers, you wont get that unless there is an insurance element as in France and Australia for instance where all have a choice of doctor and even hospital to use, it is that insurance element that drives that part of health care.
You even get reimbursed in Australia if the treatment you need is not available, the wife of my oldest friend in Adelaide who was a theater nurse could not believe I had to pay for my hip replacement that I had to have or end in a wheelchair as they get something like 85% returned and then some more of the insurance, that may not be the right proportions but in essence it's correct.
The GPs are not going to want to go back to being paid per appointment as nearly everywhere else does, it suits them this way, not us but it suits them.
As for flu jabs my 'medical centre' has an attached pharmacy independent of it, they do the Covid jabs and health checks and flu jabs, it makes you wonder what the medical centre is there for, not patients.
Otherwise I agree with all you say.
Sobers - yes, however it is done we need some form of payment by results.
djc - yes, just copy one of the best European systems.
Wiggia - at times I wonder if the plan is to phase out GPs and replace them with medical centres.
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