In todays news...

[Count Steer]

Re Civil Service numbers. There are something like 43000 Prison and Probation Officers and, it's pretty widely accepted there isn't enough of either, so those numbers will probably rise.

(Not sure either of those jobs fit the 'rule creating mandarins' tag either ).

[Cousin Jack]

Not to mention Local Government (spit!) and the legions of the NHS (angels every one).

What we need is a society that

• Keeps it's own money and spends it wisely
  Lives within its means
  Has a minimum of rules
  Looks after itself and it's friends, family and neighbours

We need a police service and a justice sytem.
We need the armed services
We need some infrastructure like roads/railways/power/water/etc

Most of the rest we can buy ourselves if and when we need it, if only that bloody government would wind itself in and stop taking our money away to spend on what it thinks is good for us.

[Horse]

Most of the rest we can buy ourselves if and when we need it, if

What, and how? Really don't know what you mean.

[Cousin Jack]

Most of the rest we can buy ourselves if and when we need it, if

What, and how? Really don't know what you mean.

.
I really don't need a pension scheme. I invested MY money in one since 1963.
I don't need a benefit system. I have never used it, nor have any of my family. If I needed to I could insure against stuff.
I don't need shit like MOTs and DVLA to monitor them. My cars and bikes get maintained and checked by a professional at least annually.
I don't need all the legions of rules and regulations, many are common sense, and most get ignored by the bad actors anyway
I don't even need an NHS, if I hadn't been forced to contribute I could buy my medical care bad stuff and/or insure against . And it would be better.,

[Count Steer]

Most of the rest we can buy ourselves if and when we need it, if

What, and how? Really don't know what you mean.

Schools, prisons, hygiene inspectors, bin men, road sweepers, parks and gardens people, swimming pools and sports centres, customs officers. That sort of thing Hoss.

[JackyJoll]

Fox hunting is so silly that I think it should be made compulsory.

[Horse]

Fox hunting is so silly that I think it should be made compulsory.

[JackyJoll]

Fox hunting is so silly that I think it should be made compulsory.

The alcoholics’ 100 metres Olympic event was my favourite.

[wheelnut]

I don't even need an NHS, if I hadn't been forced to contribute I could buy my medical care bad stuff and/or insure against . And it would be better.,

I’m not sure private healthcare in the uk is what you think it is. It’s great for elective, one off surgery, it doesn’t do emergencies, chronic conditions or trauma,

Must private hospitals don’t even have crash or rescuss facilities - if you go off on the table they’ll just call an ambulance and you’ll get whisked off to an nhs hospital.

[demographic]

I don't even need an NHS, if I hadn't been forced to contribute I could buy my medical care bad stuff and/or insure against . And it would be better.,

If you think that the NHS is bad, try what the US has and see just how expensive basic health insurance can be.
You might be tempted to go Luigi on a healthcare CEO.

[Pirahna]

I don't even need an NHS, if I hadn't been forced to contribute I could buy my medical care bad stuff and/or insure against . And it would be better.,

If you think that the NHS is bad, try what the US has and see just how expensive basic health insurance can be.
You might be tempted to go Luigi on a healthcare CEO.

Isn't health care the biggest cause of bankruptcy in the US?

I have a friend there that's sick, she got taken I'll about three years ago. Everything she owns has been sold to pay for treatment, she has a bedroom at her daughters house and relies on go fund me to pay ongoing costs.

[David]

Fox hunting is so silly that I think it should be made compulsory.

Great idea...start round here....

[Horse]

I don't even need an NHS, if I hadn't been forced to contribute I could buy my medical care bad stuff and/or insure against . And it would be better.,

I’m not sure private healthcare in the uk is what you think it is. It’s great for elective, one off surgery, it doesn’t do emergencies, chronic conditions or trauma,

Must private hospitals don’t even have crash or rescuss facilities - if you go off on the table they’ll just call an ambulance and you’ll get whisked off to an nhs hospital.

I posted this just a couple of days ago.

Basically, if anyone in the USA wants to get health care, it seems they can't rely on insurance.


For contrxt
2024/25: The NHS budget is set to increase to £192 billion, an increase of £1.1 billion on 2023/24 when adjusted for inflation.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/a ... popular4-1

A few years ago I was invited to a lavish dinner with dozens of the most powerful CEOs in America. I had been asked to moderate a panel on social media earlier in the evening, and then was offered a seat at a table, where I was joined by the leaders of tech giants, major retailers, and manufacturing behemoths. Right next to me was the CEO of one of America’s largest health care companies—a plump man who, to say it politely, looked like he’d walked out of central casting for the role of “Health care CEO.” He spent most of the evening talking about his recent golf and fishing trips, and ate a steak that looked like it was still alive. Eventually, after hearing about his single-digit handicap, I couldn’t help myself, so I leaned in and politely asked, “Do you ever feel bad that your company denies people coverage, and sometimes they die because of it?” Without missing a beat, he took another bite of his steak and responded, “Oh, you can’t think of them as people. You just have to think of them as numbers on a spreadsheet.”

I’ve probably replayed that encounter in my head a few hundred times since last week, when the nation was gripped by the killing of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare. Not because I expected something like this to happen, but because of the startling public support for the alleged shooter that ensued immediately afterward. It was as if everyone in America knew that most of these health care companies don’t look at Americans as people, but rather as exactly what I was told: numbers on a spreadsheet. “His company put multiple of my family members in debt they will be paying for the rest of their lives & denied care for my uncle which led to his death,” as one woman recalled on Twitter. “Brian Thompson killed people. Full stop.” There were also thousands of joke posts (“I’m sorry, prior authorization is required for thoughts and prayers”), while others simply captured the sheer nihilism of the American spirit (“I cant even pretend to care, I hope he’s looking up at us”).

It will probably surprise no one to learn that, when you look at their spreadsheets, these health insurance companies have been doing quite well. UnitedHealth Group, in particular, reported a whopping $22 billion in profits in 2023 alone, including $5.5 billion in the fourth quarter. While on the surface this might imply one of a few scenarios—perhaps that more Americans have suddenly become wildly healthier, or that the health care insurer has increased premiums and denied more claims—there’s actually something else going on here.


It goes on to explain how these companies speed up their claims processes.

[wheelnut]

I don't even need an NHS, if I hadn't been forced to contribute I could buy my medical care bad stuff and/or insure against . And it would be better.,

If you think that the NHS is bad, try what the US has and see just how expensive basic health insurance can be.
You might be tempted to go Luigi on a healthcare CEO.

My son is married to an American girl and I was talking to her parents about it. They get basic coverage through work but top up the insurance to the tune of $25k pa. Even then each claim brings massive stress as claims are denied and appealed. A simple blood test can be $2k and waiting times can be a lot longer than we’d imagine.

I’m sure there’s better models than the NHS but they’re not in the US.

[Horse]

Do any of the UK's private hospitals train staff? Doctors, nurses, etc.


And AAMOI:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/n ... 68235.html

The cost of the maintenance backlog in Scotland’s NHS has risen to more than £1.3 billion, figures show.

Data released following a freedom of information request from the Scottish Conservatives shows it would take £1.335 billion to clear the maintenance waiting list, according to the Scottish Government.

[Count Steer]

Do any of the UK's private hospitals train staff? Doctors, nurses, etc.

They're effectively parasitic on the NHS and they don't particularly want acute stuff. Don't try pitching up at one waving your insurance policy after a car/bike accident expecting there to be an A&E either. (That'll change though, where America goes, we follow ).