The NHS Under Pressure

[poliphilo]

They let my father in law out of hospital yesterday. I'm not sure he wouldn't have benefited from a couple more days inside, but we understand they needed his bed for someone sicker.  They've been housing him on the stroke ward- even though he hasn't had a stroke- because that was the only place they could fit him in.

I've no complaints about his treatment; the Royal Oldham is a fine hospital with a fine record; but the system is clearly under considerable pressure. Elsewhere, according to what I see on TV, it's beginning to break down. So how's the NHS going to cope when the generation of the baby boomers starts flooding through its doors with the illnesses of old age?

Comments

[daisytells.livejournal.com]

We have rationing here, and have done so for years. When I was on Tufts HMO while I was still working (1997-98) it took about three months to get an appointment with my Primary Care Provider, but I could if ill take my pick between seeing his nurse-practitioner or going to the Emergency Room for several hours, only to be told that I needed to see my own doctor! I've already mentioned about how we cannot get sufficient time in hospital. Fully half of the substances my doctor or his nurse practitioner prescribed for me were not covered by my plan, and were outrageously expensive -- and of course I did not know that I could not afford them until I dragged my sick self to the pharmacy and were presented with the bill, which nearly gave me a stroke! There's much less rationing on Medicare/Medicaid (national plans for the poor and the elderly). No way will I ever buy so-called "insurance" again!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I don't know what the answer is. Modern medicine is so expensive- and someone has to pay for it. Funding for our NHS keeps increasing- but it's never enough...