(Note: last week is never complete, as is current week).
And there was clear signal that admissions were rising at the start of December.
There was plenty of time to prepare for Omicron.
Even just improved social protections - such as the devolved nations have now put in - would have helped.
For the economy of the nation - not just an elite few - and to save lives a short circuit breaker would have worked.
We remain about 4 weeks behind South Africa!
…they remain with 10-fold higher Covid inpatients than their previous Delta baseline.
They of course mitigated against the wave. And still within two weeks jumped:
Gauteng…
Dec 5th:
1.5k admitted
115 in ICU
29 Ventilated
Dec 19th:
3.4K admitted
285 in ICU
110 ventilated
We must predict this will get worse. And if we don’t take action the ensuing healthcare rationing that we have suffered for nearly 2 years will reach new dizzying heights.
Act now! Or damage health and economy of the nation.
I need to tell you where the trap is in relation to the NHS
Both Streeting & Starmer have committed to keeping the NHS “free at the point of use”…
But that can look like many different things
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For example, currently you can see your GP, get referred for a colonoscopy, be seen in a private hospital, and not be charged a penny. Technically, free at the point of care, even though it has cost us all more money to deliver that care.
So, Starmer and Streeting could expand this…allowing even more “NHS patients” to use the private sector but paid for with public money, with money taken directly from the NHS budget in fact.
Big news is that access to GPs in the U.K. was one of the best
Yes, you read that right…
“This places the UK among the better-performing nations with respect to same- or next-day appointments, with only the Netherlands (50%) and Germany (49%) significantly higher.”
This access may be coming at a cost though!
The UK scored poorly on “time spent” with appointments
No surprise given most countries run at 15-20 minute appointments versus the UKs 10 mins.
In 2013 85% of people felt the GP spent enough time. It’s now 58%
Given some so called patriots want a French healthcare system, let’s take a look at it.
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Summary: social insurance with 95% of people taking private healthcare to cover copays. Costs £40bn per year more. Less equitable than NHS, but can turn a profit
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Akin to some other European countries, France uses a social insurance based model predominantly - where employer and employee pay a means-tested insurance premium
but unlike most EU countries the French people pay a surcharge on pretty much everything they access or use
This has led to 95% of the population taking out private insurance.
This is an insurance premium (on top of the social insurance premium) that is in part based on likelihood of needing health care - older people paying more.
Some good policies but overall disappointing and a bit concerning.
A summary thread
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1. There is the title: Build an NHS Fit for the Future
In one way, fair enough. Buildings are outdated and crumbling and IT is hopeless
But, Labour seems oblivious to the fact the NHS leads the world in medical and surgical care. The issue is merely access not tech upgrades.
2. "publicly owned and funded" is meaningless. Even the deranged health system of the U.S. has a publicly funded component - waiting lists are horrendous and access to treatment is very limited.
We want universal access to all available treatments - quite different!