Manx Radio

[code99]

17 hours ago, The Phantom said:

Exactly, makes you think about Private Medical Insurance that many people have as a work benefit or pay separately for. 

The NHS clearly doesn't work anymore.  I honestly fail to see how throwing more money at a broken notion will make it better.  It's like having a banger car - you can get one cheap and be lucky for a bit, but eventually you'll end up throwing more money at it than it's worth to keep it running.  The key is to know when to dump it. 

Unless they can recruit more staff (which they appear to not be able to currently, even with paying them extra) then services will not improve and waiting lists will not reduce. 

I agree with many of your posts, but I beg to disagree with your comments regarding the NHS.

My view is that the NHS is, on the whole, a fantastic healthcare system designed to work well for everyone. The trouble is that it has been allowed to deteriorate significantly (almost to a point of collapse) both in the UK and here due to burgeoning bureaucracy at the expense of chronically underfunded front-line services. In the IOM, like everywhere else in the Western world, the population is aging, and will continue to age. Whilst the total population in the UK has been growing (largely as a result of immigration), the total population in the IOM has been static at about 84,500 since 2011. With falling birth rates, demand for midwifes and childcare services that were in demand when baby boomers generation were at their most active, have been somewhat replaced with demands for hip replacements and geriatric care. All of this has been widely foreseen, yet successive administrations chose not to prepare for it. Instead, successive Manx governments have been splurging on poorly though-through vanity projects that left the Island with massive financial losses and little to show for e.g., botched film industry, unauthorised MUA loans, etc, etc. Half-way through their tenure Cannan and Dr Allinson are now talking about ‘delivering value for taxpayers’ money’ – a bit late for that?

Edited February 24 by code99
typo

[The Voice of Reason]

1 hour ago, clevor trevor said:

Thank you for your criticism, I hope you have a good weekend.

You’re welcome. I hope it was constructive.

[Mercenary]

7 hours ago, Anyone said:

I think you pay a small charge to see a GP in Jersey , I could be wrong.  I would guess that an awful lot of GP appointments in the UK/IOM are actually unnecessary. Time wasted on colds , sore throats and other minor ailments that just need bed rest and not an GP intervention and unfortunate people struggling with mental health issues that GPs simply can’t help with. There is unfortunately no simple solution. If there was some bright MHK or MP would have come up with one. Having said that the responsibility for our health service lies not solely in the hands of politicians but the NHS itself. It is those who run health services that are failing us , not elected politicians. It is up to NHS management teams to use the funds they are provided with by the taxpayer to deliver what they are all paid to do. So let’s lay the blame where it should lie. 

Sorry I should have made it clear - that was my point that a charge in Jersey cuts the demand on GPs by half. If that was the case here, suddenly you could get same day appointments and not have the 8am scramble, and the strain on practises would be less unsustainable. Perhaps some people miss out on a consultation as they can't/don't want to pay, but they have assistance for people on benefits etc and it's unlikely Jersey life expectancies/outcomes are radically different.

[Two-lane]

8 minutes ago, Mercenary said:

that was my point that a charge in Jersey cuts the demand on GPs by half

So 50% of the people in doctor's waiting rooms do not need to be there. In my opinion that statement does not pass the sanity test.

I think more detailed analysis of the data is required.

[Fred the shred]

The practice I go to is great if you ring up for a same day appointment you are triaged by the receptionist, to a point, if your condition is urgent or you are vulnerable, child or elderly , you always get an emergency appointment at least that is my experience.    If you want a specific Doctor on a non urgent medical problem you will have to wait a couple of weeks or so.    My belief has always been if you really feel poorly you are grateful to see any Doctor that is available.   You can also request a telephone consultation.    The number of missed appointments is very high which I think is awful you cannot blame the post because if you get a letter from the surgery it tells you to ring up and make an appointment.

[Jarndyce]

46 minutes ago, Two-lane said:

So 50% of the people in doctor's waiting rooms do not need to be there. In my opinion that statement does not pass the sanity test.

I think more detailed analysis of the data is required

It might well “pass the sanity test”.   But you’d need more data analysis to demonstrate it beyond just opinion, one way or the other.

[CrazyDave]

2 hours ago, Two-lane said:

So 50% of the people in doctor's waiting rooms do not need to be there. In my opinion that statement does not pass the sanity test.

I think more detailed analysis of the data is required.

I would think it could well be more than 50 percent who don’t need input from a GP at all, and of those that do the majority could be dealt with online or over the phone.

[Anyone]

But would it pass the sanity clause ?

[The Phantom]

On 2/24/2024 at 9:44 AM, code99 said:

I agree with many of your posts, but I beg to disagree with your comments regarding the NHS.

My view is that the NHS is, on the whole, a fantastic healthcare system designed to work well for everyone. The trouble is that it has been allowed to deteriorate significantly (almost to a point of collapse) both in the UK and here due to burgeoning bureaucracy at the expense of chronically underfunded front-line services. In the IOM, like everywhere else in the Western world, the population is aging, and will continue to age. Whilst the total population in the UK has been growing (largely as a result of immigration), the total population in the IOM has been static at about 84,500 since 2011. With falling birth rates, demand for midwifes and childcare services that were in demand when baby boomers generation were at their most active, have been somewhat replaced with demands for hip replacements and geriatric care. All of this has been widely foreseen, yet successive administrations chose not to prepare for it. Instead, successive Manx governments have been splurging on poorly though-through vanity projects that left the Island with massive financial losses and little to show for e.g., botched film industry, unauthorised MUA loans, etc, etc. Half-way through their tenure Cannan and Dr Allinson are now talking about ‘delivering value for taxpayers’ money’ – a bit late for that?

Still sounds like you're agreeing that the whole system is broken. 😉 

[Mercenary]

Although realistically anything that moves from free at point of use for all services is potentially political suicide. So it's more palatable to have a dysfunctional NHS that gets fed more money, rather than systematic reform.

 

[Bobbie Bobster]

9 hours ago, Anyone said:

But would it pass the sanity clause ?

I don't believe in Sanity Clause.

[x-in-man]

Right, that’s it.  I just fell asleep listening to MR just now.   The pair of them are that interesting.

[code99]

2 hours ago, The Phantom said:

Still sounds like you're agreeing that the whole system is broken. 😉 

I agree that in its current state our publicly funded healthcare system is struggling, possibly even broken, and that going forward the pressure will only increase.

There are multiple ways for addressing the issues without dismantling the whole system, e.g., ‘go-all-in-American style’ would be tantamount to throwing the NHS off a cliff. In the UK and also here, there is a private healthcare industry (for those who are willing to and able to pay), which operates in parallel to the NHS. As you previously posted yourself, many employees have private medical insurance included in their total remuneration package. By stumping up for private healthcare, private patients are taking a reasonable amount of operational and financial pressure off Manx Care, but the creation of Manx Care was not necessary, i.e. an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy and duplication which has added extra costs to the overall system with no obvious benefits for patients. Waiting lists are still unacceptably long and are getting even longer, etc.

It is not just the healthcare sector that this Government is not adequately addressing.  Let’s take housing as another example. During the Friday Budget Special on Manx Radio, Dr Allinson mentioned something about a possible future ‘deal’ with the banks, which would enable more ‘lower wage’ residents to obtain a mortgage. I got the impression that under this deal the IOMG would act as underwriter for personal housing mortgages. He may have just been airing his own personal thoughts. I would like to know if this idea has any substance. Is this IOMG policy? Has he agreed any kind of ‘deal’ with the banks? Has he costed such a deal? Has he included this ‘deal’ in his Budget?

Both Cannan and Dr Allison repeated several times that the Government “was delivering and will continue to deliver” – the problem is that neither said what is it that they are delivering and for whom.

ETA: Anecdotally, between 5,000 and 10,000 Island residents use the private healthcare system.

Edited February 25 by code99

[Interested Reader]

29 minutes ago, code99 said:

Both Cannan and Dr Allison repeated several times that the Government “was delivering and will continue to deliver” – the problem is that neither said what is it that they are delivering and for whom.

The problem is that it’s only them who believe that. The Emperors New Clothes spring to mind. 

[The Phantom]

43 minutes ago, code99 said:

I agree that in its current state our publicly funded healthcare system is struggling, possibly even broken, and that going forward the pressure will only increase.

There are multiple ways for addressing the issues without dismantling the whole system, e.g., ‘go-all-in-American style’ would be tantamount to throwing the NHS off a cliff. In the UK and also here, there is a private healthcare industry (for those who are willing to and able to pay), which operates in parallel to the NHS. As you previously posted yourself, many employees have private medical insurance included in their total remuneration package. By stumping up for private healthcare, private patients are taking a reasonable amount of operational and financial pressure off Manx Care, but the creation of Manx Care was not necessary, i.e. an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy and duplication which has added extra costs to the overall system with no obvious benefits for patients. Waiting lists are still unacceptably long and are getting even longer, etc.

It is not just the healthcare sector that this Government is not adequately addressing.  Let’s take housing as another example. During the Friday Budget Special on Manx Radio, Dr Allinson mentioned something about a possible future ‘deal’ with the banks, which would enable more ‘lower wage’ residents to obtain a mortgage. I got the impression that under this deal the IOMG would act as underwriter for personal housing mortgages. He may have just been airing his own personal thoughts. I would like to know if this idea has any substance. Is this IOMG policy? Has he agreed any kind of ‘deal’ with the banks? Has he costed such a deal? Has he included this ‘deal’ in his Budget?

Both Cannan and Dr Allison repeated several times that the Government “was delivering and will continue to deliver” – the problem is that neither said what is it that they are delivering and for whom.

ETA: Anecdotally, between 5,000 and 10,000 Island residents use the private healthcare system.

I've got private and healthier than the vast majority, so obviously I'm kind of biased.

The real problem is actually accessing private over here. The options are quite limited, albeit with the recent private GPs setting up. So the first line access is almost always going to be via the NHS no matter your coverage.