It breaks your heart

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

Just watching a feature that followed NHS ambulances around London in a 12 shift one night.

Every 15 seconds, the Emergency Response Unit receives a 999 emergency call for urgent ambulance attention. At any one time, 90 people have been left waiting over one hour to be attended to. The Unit has to prioritise resources between the most needy calls. Staff working at the centre routinely did 30 hours overtime every WEEK just to pay the bills. One of them went on record saying that at the time of recording, the Governed had just lowered taxes - the last thing they wanted. They wanted more resources to answer the calls with. We don't need tax breaks, we NEED INVESTMENT!

That leads me on to the veterans feared in the programme. One was living on his own in the dark and was going pretty much without eating that night, as he couldn't afford to keep the lights on, the heating on AND food in the oven. He was eating boiled rice for dinner that night - hardly a hearty meal - in order to stay warm. How can we treat our heroes like this?

Other calls included severely mentally ill people calling from phone boxes crying their eyes out saying they had nothing to live for anymore, with no place to go - it took 30 minutes for an ambulance to get to them.

I could go on, but with our cash strapped health service, London is running on empty and without severe investment it may just fall over one of these days under the strain.

It breaks your heart.

 

[fla4fun]

Just watching a feature that followed NHS ambulances around London in a 12 shift one night.

Every 15 seconds, the Emergency Response Unit receives a 999 emergency call for urgent ambulance attention. At any one time, 90 people have been left waiting over one hour to be attended to. The Unit has to prioritise resources between the most needy calls. Staff working at the centre routinely did 30 hours overtime every WEEK just to pay the bills. One of them went on record saying that at the time of recording, the Governed had just lowered taxes - the last thing they wanted. They wanted more resources to answer the calls with. We don't need tax breaks, we NEED INVESTMENT!

That leads me on to the veterans feared in the programme. One was living on his own in the dark and was going pretty much without eating that night, as he couldn't afford to keep the lights on, the heating on AND food in the oven. He was eating boiled rice for dinner that night - hardly a hearty meal - in order to stay warm. How can we treat our heroes like this?

Other calls included severely mentally ill people calling from phone boxes crying their eyes out saying they had nothing to live for anymore, with no place to go - it took 30 minutes for an ambulance to get to them.

I could go on, but with our cash strapped health service, London is running on empty and without severe investment it may just fall over one of these days under the strain.

It breaks your heart.

It’s not any better here, mainly because so many people can’t afford healthcare. Health insurance is expensive, and even with insurance there are co-pays and deductibles we have to pay on top of the insurance. I am unemployed right now, the COBRA has run out, and there is no subsidized healthcare if you are out of work long term. So I have to pay nearly $1,000 per month for insurance that pays zero until I have met my $6,000 deductible for the year (although it does cover well after that). I am fortunate that I had savings so I can afford it. I basically have it in case something catastrophic happens and I end up in the hospital. I have noticed in my job search that more companies than ever are not offering a company subsidized healthcare plan. My only hope is to find one of the few jobs that does. My last job had great insurance that I only had to pay $16 per month for.

I have read about some of the funding issues and long waits for care with the NHS and I hope they are resolved soon so that people get the care they need.

 

[tennisfan]

I wouldn't say the NHS is cash strapped. They have had billions thrown at it. It needs reform, i've work for an ambulance trust almost 16 years, 15 of them frontline.

The NHS needs reform, its too top heavy with managers & positions that aren't needed. They also need to stop wasting money, on needless thing/policies. 30 mins for mental health call is within the time frame set in the national framework.

I went to many a person who called an ambulance when they could have easily phoned GP or 111. There is still the perception, that going by ambulance you get seen quicker. If they myth could be dispelled, it would free up a lot of crews.