Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[mizfit]

Isaiah Ch 45 V 5

That better not be a new fucking variant.

[Mark Connolly]

10 minutes ago, Jacksgranda said:

Isaiah Ch 45 V 5

And SARS-Cov-2 begat COVID19, which begat Alpha, which begat Beta, which begat Gamma, which begat Delta, which begat Omicron

[DeeTillEhDeh]

My advice to you is to stop the sanctimonious sneering and looking down on others who don't share your view.

[Jacksgranda]

2 hours ago, WhiteRoseKillie said:

Some posters (not yourself, I might add) really need to step away from here and have a good look at themselves.

You could say the same about the Politics Forum.

[vikingTON]

1 hour ago, WhiteRoseKillie said:

Yep, I got that wrong. Apologies. In my defence, that's how it was when I worked in payroll, and for the last couple of decades my employer has been the government. Mea culpa..

Out of touch public sector worker with no idea how the real world works, IMO.

35 minutes ago, DeeTillEhDeh said:

Funded primarily through a block grant from Westminster. The scope to increase/decrease via taxation is very limited.

If that budget is limited, as it has been for the past 10 years in real terms, then clearly there is a responsibility for Westminster as well.

Until there is full fiscal autonomy that will continue to be the case.

 

The budget hasn't been limited in comparative terms to any other government department or public sector - NHS spending has been consistently ringfenced and increased because it is the state religion of the rump UK. 

The extra funds shovelled into healthcare are simply delivering diminishing returns, because the costs of advanced medical treatment increase well above inflation. Those treatments are also being delivered over a longer period of time, as survival rates turn quickly fatal diseases into chronic ones. That costs more and so in that respect every modern healthcare system is a victim of its own success. 

The demand for medical treatment is also increasing significantly though because the boomer generation are all now falling apart with chronic ill-health. This is also flattening social care, which prevents hospitals from focusing on their real jobs rather than being a holding pen for those who can't look after themselves, but aren't acutely ill either. 

There is no straightforward way out of this, but 'Tory austerity' is really not the root cause of healthcare problems in Scotland. Scotland avoided the latest reorganisation mess under the coalition government and the government has had real choices to make with its budget. Brexit can certainly be added as a valid contributing factor from Tory policies but in terms of overall impact it's simply not at the top of the list yet. 

The most significant causes of declining healthcare performance - cost inflation and demand - cannot really be controlled by any government. 

Edited January 8, 2022 by vikingTON

[Jacksgranda]

1 hour ago, Left Back said:

Reading that Nick Triggle article and one of the graphics shows that 5% of NHS staff are off sick for non-covid reasons.

That can’t be right or normal surely?

Stress? Other illnesses. I was listening to a nurse talking to her colleague whenever I was in - last year she had a miscarriage, lost her stepmother and was separated from her daughter for weeks because of Covid regulations, so there's two reasons there (miscarriage & bereavement leave).

[Jacksgranda]

35 minutes ago, mizfit said:

That better not be a new fucking variant.

It's a very dangerous one, it involves smiting and also fire and brimstone, as far as I recall.

Then there's a wailing and a gnashing of teeth, not to mention sackcloth and ashes.

Best avoided.

[Todd_is_God]

13 minutes ago, virginton said:

NHS spending has been consistently ringfenced and increased

Has it?

[ICTChris]

Look at what they took from us 

 

[vikingTON]

2 minutes ago, Todd_is_God said:

Has it?

Erm yes it has. Try comparing the above figures with other areas of public sector spending in the 2010s. 

[Todd_is_God]

3 minutes ago, virginton said:

Erm yes it has. Try comparing the above figures with other areas of public sector spending in the 2010s. 

I don't have them, do you?

It is possible to spend less on the NHS year on year whilst still spending more on it relative to other public sectors.

[DeeTillEhDeh]

The budget hasn't been limited in comparative terms to any other government department or public sector - NHS spending has been consistently ringfenced and increased because it is the state religion of the rump UK. 
The extra funds shovelled into healthcare are simply delivering diminishing returns, because the costs of advanced medical treatment increase well above inflation. Those treatments are also being delivered over a longer period of time, as survival rates turn quickly fatal diseases into chronic ones. That costs more and so in that respect every modern healthcare system is a victim of its own success. 
The demand for medical treatment is also increasing significantly though because the boomer generation are all now falling apart with chronic ill-health. This is also flattening social care, which prevents hospitals from focusing on their real jobs rather than being a holding pen for those who can't look after themselves, but aren't acutely ill either. 
There is no straightforward way out of this, but 'Tory austerity' is really not the root cause of healthcare problems in Scotland. Scotland avoided the latest reorganisation mess under the coalition government and the government has had real choices to make with its budget. Brexit can certainly be added as a valid contributing factor from Tory policies but in terms of overall impact it's simply not at the top of the list yet. 
The most significant causes of declining healthcare performance - cost inflation and demand - cannot really be controlled by any government. 

I didn't say it was the root cause by that Westminster had a responsibility as well. I dont disagree with what you are saying regards an aging population etc

If you go to full fiscal autonomy the link is broken and the blame game of not enough resources ends.

Then it's entirely down to ScotGov's priorities and real tough choices.

It might be controversial but there is a real debate to be had regards the role of the NHS. If we want a fully comprehensive NHS then it needs to be paid for out of higher taxes - political parties in general are skirting round the issue.

[vikingTON]

More concern mewling from the shan modellers:

Quote

 

The north-east and north-west of England are seeing “concerning” rates of the Omicron variant, an expert has said.

Dr Mike Tildesley, from the University of Warwick and a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Modelling group (Spi-M) highlighted these regions, along with the Midlands, as areas of concern.

He said cases in London are “slowing down”, but scientists need two weeks to see if this continues.

 

Note the above phrase - "slowing down" - which I think it's fair to say most people would interpret in the context of a pandemic as 'still increasing, but more gradually than before'. 

Meanwhile, in the land of reality:

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/london-covid-cases-by-borough-omicron-wave-peaked-latest-pandemic-b975583.html%3famp

Quote

 

Nearly two thirds of London boroughs have seen Covid rates fall amid hope that the capital’s wave of Omicron infections has peaked.

An Evening Standard analysis of the latest data shows the number of confirmed new cases has fallen in 19 out of the 32 boroughs. The figures cover the seven days up to January 2.

Wandsworth saw the biggest weekly decline in percentage terms. Its seven-day total of 5,405 was 1,751 fewer than the previous week - a 24.5 per cent decline.

The next biggest falls were in the neighbouring boroughs of Lambeth (1,659 fewer cases, down 22.1 per cent) and Kensington & Chelsea (519 fewer cases, down 19.7 per cent).

 

They are just pathological liars at this point in their far too long stint in the limelight. 

[Sergeant Wilson]

1 hour ago, Donathan said:

Having 2 people off sick in a department of 40 would be far from unusual 

It might be if they're pilots or surgeons.

[davidkennedyshand]

50 minutes ago, Mark Connolly said:

And SARS-Cov-2 begat COVID19, which begat Alpha, which begat Beta, which begat Gamma, which begat Delta, which begat Omicron

Ihu incoming

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ihu-new-covid-variant-france-what-b1988532.html

[vikingTON]

3 minutes ago, Todd_is_God said:

I don't have them, do you?

It is possible to spend less on the NHS year on year whilst still spending more on it relative to other public sectors.

We spent more on the NHS during the 2010s than ever before - while spending less across the vast majority of other government (public sector) departments. That is ringfencing:

[DeeTillEhDeh]

I don't have them, do you?
It is possible to spend less on the NHS year on year whilst still spending more on it relative to other public sectors.

Austerity has hit across the board - after adjusting for inflation and demand then there are real cuts in expenditure across most departments. Whilst the NHS has not had cuts in pure monetary terms, an aging population means that it feels like a cut due the increase in demand. Even having inflationary rises in NHS expenditure wouldn't keep pace with that demand.

The real issue is - are the electorate willing to pay higher taxes to fund that demand?

Banging a few pots to "support the NHS" is easy - losing part of your income may seem unpalatable to some.

You can actually see from VT's own graphs that it has been very much a slicing strategy regards austerity - they started with welfare and moved through the departments - with the Commonwealth Office and International Development only recently being targeted.

One wonders how long NHS spending will stay out if the sights of the UK government - what we don't want is privatisation by stealth but a real debate about the future of the NHS.

The problem is that politicians are just not prepared to have that debate, to talk about increasing taxes to the levels required - it's all tinkering at the edges or short-term money grabs.

[Billy Jean King]

Reading that Nick Triggle article and one of the graphics shows that 5% of NHS staff are off sick for non-covid reasons.
That can’t be right or normal surely?

5% absence in any PS setting is pretty standard pre C19 times, certainly not excessive.

[DeeTillEhDeh]

I couldn't believe this when I read it - completely mad.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-59919105

[Billy Jean King]

It turns out Djokovic had permission from the Australian Federal Government to enter the country. They tried to get him to sign a document rescinding his visa while denying him access to a lawyer. He is currently in a detention facility where refugees have been held for NINE years. 
Scott Morrison is a fucking scumbag. 

That's not really the full story is it ?

He had exemption to enter on those grounds (along with several other players) on the basis he brought the relevant paperwork to back this up - he didn't / couldn't so it's not quite how you portray it. Several of the players who were able to provide the relevant paperwork commented on the level of proof required ie umpteen documents. Djokovic's admitted himself his representative did not have the volume of paperwork others had produced.