NHS & Medicals
Discussion
In common with most blokes, I have to be on my death bed before I even consider seeing my GP. I have probably seen him twice in the last fifteen years.
However, my HGV is up for renewal so I need a medical (that gives my age away) and they want to charge me £100 for it.
Am I wrong in thinking that this is a p*sstake? I`ve paid loads in tax and NI over the years, and never had a state handout, so why the bill? And won`t a medical highlight any potential problems and therefore save the NHS a few quid if it`s nipped in the bud?
Steve
However, my HGV is up for renewal so I need a medical (that gives my age away) and they want to charge me £100 for it.
Am I wrong in thinking that this is a p*sstake? I`ve paid loads in tax and NI over the years, and never had a state handout, so why the bill? And won`t a medical highlight any potential problems and therefore save the NHS a few quid if it`s nipped in the bud?
Steve
Get the company to pay for it as it's in their interest that you have the LGV licence.
I've been for private medicals before and i've always got my employer to cough up
I've often wondered why the NHS can't give people a medical maybe once every 5 years to monitor and detect illness before they get out of hand. Not only would preventitive treatment cost less than longterm expensive treatment and aftercare we'll have a healthier population too.
Another ludicrous aspect of the NHS, you can't have a medical to make sure your alright and fit to work, but you can have tattoo's removed and your breasts enlarged to make you feel a little more confident.
Mad as a box of frogs if you ask me
I've been for private medicals before and i've always got my employer to cough up
I've often wondered why the NHS can't give people a medical maybe once every 5 years to monitor and detect illness before they get out of hand. Not only would preventitive treatment cost less than longterm expensive treatment and aftercare we'll have a healthier population too.
Another ludicrous aspect of the NHS, you can't have a medical to make sure your alright and fit to work, but you can have tattoo's removed and your breasts enlarged to make you feel a little more confident.
Mad as a box of frogs if you ask me
I know it's not truckin', but from the Seafarer Medical Examination System:
'The approved doctor is entitled to require
payment of the prescribed maximum fee,
(currently £60), as listed in the Merchant
Shipping (Fees) Regulations 20013 but this
cost should be met by the seafarer’s employer
or company.'
'The approved doctor is entitled to require
payment of the prescribed maximum fee,
(currently £60), as listed in the Merchant
Shipping (Fees) Regulations 20013 but this
cost should be met by the seafarer’s employer
or company.'
Imagine the chaos if all the 'well' people in the country decided they wanted a quick check over, courtesy of the the good ol' Nash.
We have enough sick people to cater for thanks. Payment is a reflection of this and in some small way a deterrent. Don't know about others but I do medical reports and so on in my 'spare' time and all that expertise (quick cough and a feel of your undercarriage) is well worth the 100 quid.
We have enough sick people to cater for thanks. Payment is a reflection of this and in some small way a deterrent. Don't know about others but I do medical reports and so on in my 'spare' time and all that expertise (quick cough and a feel of your undercarriage) is well worth the 100 quid.
the truth is that doctors are expensive ( but a cheaper then lawyers) so people are awats shocked when they get charged for things that aren't part of the nhs
the nhs can't do wellman/well woman screening, it has probelms keeping it's head above the water at the best of times, every 5 years would mean an extra 10 million doctor patients episodes a year
it's a common misconception that the NHS covers everything medical and allows you unlimited time with a doctor, but this isn't true, in reality the NHS gets doctors cheap compared to other professionals, there are always complaints when doctors charge for filling in HSA forms or holiday insurance forms, but you get a lawyer to do it for that little, i can see how it looks unfair but if we ever go over to syste of healthcare like the americans people are in for a huge shock, medicine is really really expensive and makes running a car look cheap
pk
the nhs can't do wellman/well woman screening, it has probelms keeping it's head above the water at the best of times, every 5 years would mean an extra 10 million doctor patients episodes a year
it's a common misconception that the NHS covers everything medical and allows you unlimited time with a doctor, but this isn't true, in reality the NHS gets doctors cheap compared to other professionals, there are always complaints when doctors charge for filling in HSA forms or holiday insurance forms, but you get a lawyer to do it for that little, i can see how it looks unfair but if we ever go over to syste of healthcare like the americans people are in for a huge shock, medicine is really really expensive and makes running a car look cheap
pk
towman said:
they want to charge me 100 for it.
What made you think that consulting a medic when you're not ill makes you entitled to have it for free. NHS does not do 'medicals'
Why should the taxpayer subsidise a condition of your employment? Your emplyer should pay for it.
Most GPs charge less than 100 for insurance/employment medicals.
Makes your average plumber/lawyer look v. expensive.
If you want to pay real medical rates then hop across the channel or atlantic
towman said:
Am I wrong in thinking that this is a p*sstake?
No, no , no you have got it all wrong. The way it works it you pay into the NHS all your working life on the understanding that using it should only be considered as a last option (just before death).
If you do, they jerk you around endlessly until you get so pi55ed off with waiting that you opt to pay and go privately.
Unless there is any money to be made and this is where the £100 fee comes in, step this way Mr Towman.
spslward said:
Payment is a reflection of this and in some small way a deterrent.
You mean, deterring people from getting early diagnosis and treatment of potential problems that will end up costing the NHS a lot more if left untreated? Isn't it better to keep healthy people healthy than try to make sick ones better? I think the phrase is 'prevention is beter than cure'.
I'm sure you're very diligent and very busy, but out here we're wondering where the extra 50% NHS funding went.
simpo two said:
but out here we're wondering where the extra 50% NHS funding went.
I recently had the bad luck to need to see a consultant. When I finally met the chap (top bloke) we chatted and I mentioned, not moaned or complained, mentioned I had waited 3 months to see him. He almost had a fit, he explained that the NHS had recently introduced an extra layer of admin between him and the next level along. By them doing this he can no longer prioritise and see the people that need his help more urgently first, hence the 3 month wait. He said he had been a consultant in that hospital for 30 years and has never seen the NHS in a worse state.
I asked him where all the extra money we keep hearing about goes, he answered “more admin”
>> Edited by Ribol on Saturday 5th March 00:31
oddman said:
What made you think that consulting a medic when you're not ill makes you entitled to have it for free. NHS does not do 'medicals'
Because a large chunk of my income for almost 30 years has gone to the NHS
oddman said:
Why should the taxpayer subsidise a condition of your employment? Your emplyer should pay for it.
I am taxpayer! See above. I am also self employed.
oddman said:
Most GPs charge less than 100 for insurance/employment medicals..
Mine doesn`t
oddman said:
Makes your average plumber/lawyer look v. expensive.
Plumbers and lawyers haven`t had large chunks of my money for almost 30 years
oddman said:
If you want to pay real medical rates then hop across the channel or atlantic
Why go to the trouble - I`ll just ask one of the thieving scum health tourists that come here for me to pay for their treatment.
I`m getting angry now.
towman said:
I`m getting angry now.
I would have thought not needing the NHS for 30 should be a cause for celebration not Anger
Sorry didn't mean to provoke perhaps I should provide some explanation. A lot of PHers seem to have some strange ideas about the NHS. Most of its faults are to do with politics not the staff. Most of my postings as a medic are to help people understand/get the best out of the system rather than direct advice (I failed last night). So a longer more sober response......
First of all every word of National Health Service is a lie. It is not National - the biggest geographical inequality at present is probably that long term care is free in Scotland and means tested elsewhere (a huge inequality). It is largely concerned with disease not health. It has never been service orientated largely because of the pressure to deal with significant disease burden on limeted funds.
The Illness, Injury and Madness System would be an honest description.
Now to your GP. He has a contract with the NHS not with you. He earns his money broadly speaking three ways. First of all capitation fees - he gets a small amount annually for every one of the 2000 or so people on his list irrespective of how often he sees them. Then he can boost his income by hitting targets for immunisations, hypertension and diabetes care etc. (this is the most significant 'health' activity in the NHS. GPs also make a small amount of money from insurance medicals, legal reports etc. This is outside the NHS
If you ask for a health check, it would be very unusual for a surgery to turn you down as middle aged men are very difficult to see for health promotion/advice. You'd answer some lifestyle questions probably get weighed blood pressure and cholersterol check. You'd then be 'advised' (moaned at) if you told them the truth about your drinking and smoking
Your GP has no obligation to provide a report (because if you think about it writing a report has nothing to do with your health) hence why you have to pay. The BMA has a fee structure for this sort of thing if you PM me witht he exact details of what you're being charged for I'll ring the BMA and ask them what their approved rate is (he can however charge what he likes they're only guidelines). Now to tax - it may come as a surprise but when people attend a clinic we do not have access to people's personal tax records. Hence GP receptionist do not scatter rose petals at your feet and say 'Thank you Mr Towman you paid my meagre salary last year'. We all pay for other peoples care. It is still very much the socialist system set up in 1947. The flip side of this is that if the worst came to the worst and you had serious multiple injuries (not unthinkable in your job) After intensive care at GBP1000 a day for 3 months rehab at least GBP1000 a week and then a lifetime of care after that at least part funded by the state you'd be rightly angry if they said 'I'm afraid your tax contributions have run out off you go'. The politicians seem to believe the NHS is the system everyone wants. No one has had the bottle to propose a radical alternative hence we haven't had the chance to change the NHS by democratic means. Most NHS staff would like it to be out of political control as then we could concentrate on doing what we do best not following politically driven agendas.
Now to 'nipping things in the bud'. The idea of preventive health care is to save you not money. Preventive health care does not save the NHS or the taxpayer money. If you are 'saved' by early treatment for a preventable illness (hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol) you will survive, on expensive treatment, to get another illness/pick up your state pension and otherwise spend more tax. The only medic whose health care saved tax payers money was Shipman (20mg of diamorphine only costs a few pence).
As a taxpayer these are the things you should be angry about.
Privatisation of optician services and most dental care.
Privatisation (removal from direct link to ward sister) of hospital cleaning services (MRSA death rates doubled in last few years).
Build today, pay tomorrow PFI schemes to ensure lots of shiny new hospitals get New Labour re elected. We'll still be paying these debts (incurred at much higher interest rates than public borrowing) in 30 years' time
This week they've told us that we can no longer use the only licensed treatments for Alzheimer's disease on grounds of 'cost benefit'.
Worst of all if you get a chronic illness no matter how much tax you have paid you will still have to pay for your long term care. This means if you're on your own you'll have to sell your house to pay for your care and you'll continue paying until you have about 18 grand left to leave your kids. At this point the council might try to move you somewhere cheaper when they start paying.
People in public sector are often accused of not being in the real world. My real world has included delivering babies, holding a baby in my arms as it died, watching a mother trash a hospital room after telling her said baby had died, seeing a man drown in his own blood after some scrote cut his throat, having cancer patients beg me to kill them because they cannot endure any more suffering. I've endured verbal and physical abuse and witnessed the racist abuse of colleagues. Oddly enough, and I suspect most medics/nurses will back me on this, the people who make us most angry are the 'I've paid my taxes' (when in truth most people, especially the self employed, do everything they can to avoid tax) and 'I know my rights' (which they usually don't) brigade.
I guess we shouldn't start on 'National Insurance' eh?
T
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