Hospital.

[scrivz69]

Did anyone catch this the other night, for me it is just like being at work, but it just shows the pressure the NHS is under at pretty much every hospital in the UK. first part of six so I will be following this. first one is on iplayer now. It is a very good watch.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...ital-episode-1

 

[ChroniC]

Imo, it's time that there was something in place (maybe a fine) for wasting NHS time.
I'm nearly middle aged and have been to the doctors probably twice in my whole adult life (1 being for holiday jabs) and never to hospital. I do not go in with sprains asking for xrays, I do not go in because of a slight rash or a sore throat. You'd probably have to drag me in if I was coughing up blood.
I have no basis for proof but it's either people with hypocondria or people who are making themselves ill from poor choices. I cannot believe that millions apon millions of people are ridiculously sick or dieing everyday.

 

[HangTime]

Probably not the right thread for this, but you only have to go into A&E in a city hospital in the early hours of Saturday/Sunday to see how much is wasted on drunks. I've had to do it twice in recent years, once when I had a kidney stone (when you arrive vomiting at 5am, people assume you are just like all the others!) and once when my baby was very ill. You've literally got people having to be physically dragged along f'ing and blinding trying to hit staff etc. Then you've got someone with a lacerated arm because they decided it would be fun to punch a window after a few too many.

This isn't a serious suggestion as there are too many flaws but it would be great if awake people got breathalysed at the entrance to hospital and not allowed in until sober

 

[nimz]

Imo, it's time that there was something in place (maybe a fine) for wasting NHS time.

I agree. Send drunk folk an invoice the next day. Like these A&E places abroad you see on TV.

 

[Vonhelmet]

You can't really turn away or bill drunks because there are many many ailments that people "bring upon themselves" to a greater or lesser extent. If you break your leg playing because you were wilfully playing football are the hospital supposed to turn you away?

 

[Heisenberg]

You can't really turn away or bill drunks because there are many many ailments that people "bring upon themselves" to a greater or lesser extent. If you break your leg playing because you were wilfully playing football are the hospital supposed to turn you away?

No, but you are less likely to attack staff etc. Working in A&E at weekends must be brutal.

 

[ChroniC]

You can't really turn away or bill drunks because there are many many ailments that people "bring upon themselves" to a greater or lesser extent. If you break your leg playing because you were wilfully playing football are the hospital supposed to turn you away?

That such a redundant argument as one is an accident the other is self inflicted.

 

[scrivz69]

I posted this about the program and not about the problems. I worked a 2-10 shift both Saturday and Sunday as a porter in A@E and it is just a mad house, forget the who's who and he is drunk blah blah blah. The entire system is floored and cannot cope. The staff are flat out, the people abusing the system need to watch this program to realise this and let the people who really are ill get treated. We could go around an around and around.

 

[iamdjdz]

My wife works as a nurse in A&E so I will point her in the direction of this. She's always saying that the worst part are patient's relatives who demand food and drinks after short waits and patients getting angry at not being seen. Couple this with massive trolley waits and lack of beds elsewhere in the hospital to move patients too and you realise that drunk people are only a small part of the equation.

 

[Vonhelmet]

That such a redundant argument as one is an accident the other is self inflicted.

I'm playing devils advocate, with a measure of seriousness. People choose to play football, which is an activity entailing a level of risk. Why should they receive free care when they put themselves at risk?

 

[neviditelny]

I work in the NHS as well, as a HCA on a acute medical ward but work a lot of extra in A&E. It is always a chaos in the entire hospital with shortages of beds and issues with social care etc.

Anyway, I know a lot of people who watched this show, I tend to not watch much tv, specially not medical shows as I get enough of it at work.

 

[drunkenmaster]

My wife works as a nurse in A&E so I will point her in the direction of this. She's always saying that the worst part are patient's relatives who demand food and drinks after short waits and patients getting angry at not being seen. Couple this with massive trolley waits and lack of beds elsewhere in the hospital to move patients too and you realise that drunk people are only a small part of the equation.

It's a small part, but the saying the last straw that broke the camels back comes into play. If the 5 drunks weren't there, who had to be monitored to keep an eye on vitals because they've taking something that can stop them breathing or cause them to aspirate, means there are 5 less beds to get everyone else going through. If you're allowed X patients per nurse, then other people aren't being treated. So without those 5 drunks that one evening, other people get treated quicker, there are less people to deal with, there are shorter queues so less people get unhappy, etc.

Taking away all the unnecessary crap would have a huge knock on effect that just makes everything that little bit better. Very small changes can result in surprisingly large changes.

 

[drunkenmaster]

I'm playing devils advocate, with a measure of seriousness. People choose to play football, which is an activity entailing a level of risk. Why should they receive free care when they put themselves at risk?

Because there is a difference. Also millions of people play football all the time, the risk is actually extremely low. The devils advocate angle never stops, why football, what about walking, people trip on pavements all the time. Car crashes, why don't people work from home, but you can get injured in the home, slip in the tub, down the stairs, gas leaks. So we should all live in basic huts that if they fell down wouldn't kill us and have nothing inside that can kill you and on and on.

Participating in normal activities shouldn't be discouraged, ever. That person who plays football presumably has a job, pays tax and deserves treatment when he gets injured living his life. But the guy who purposefully gets into abnormal, high risk activities and is purposefully harming his health should be considered somewhat differently.

The argument here is not about if football and other things shouldn't count as acceptable, it's more the other way, is can we really determine that the alcoholic shouldn't be as free to choose to be an alcoholic as the other guy is to play football?

I'm fine with consequences though, but when you bring them in, you start to face serious moral questions and corruption in terms of governmental control of such questions goes down a bad path. By that I mean, a guy who gets in a fight while drunk has to pay his own way, but maybe someone overweight who gets diabetes due to their own diet has to pay for their own treatment unless they can prove they are eating healthier. IE a fat dude making no attempt to get better pays towards his treatment. But a fat dude who gets diabetes but shows a clear weight loss doesn't have to pay for his treatment while doctors monitor his progress and he's helping himself out.

But if you do that, where does the line stop and how do we make sure that line isn't crossed in the future when the government look to cut costs so change the rules so more and more people have to pay their own way?

 

[Participant]

I'm playing devils advocate, with a measure of seriousness. People choose to play football, which is an activity entailing a level of risk. Why should they receive free care when they put themselves at risk?

The benefit to public health of people playing sports outweighs the cost. Easy.