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Most “general practitioners” in Britain have shut down most of their services and for several months now their staff have been chasing away most “patients” who have gone to them for help. You don’t read much about that in the media.
(Similarly you won’t read much about how Britain’s reported rate of deaths with Covid-19 per million population, at ~600, is LITERALLY ABOUT TWICE the figure of ~300 for the EU. Media consumers are being fed the idea that continental types are a right bunch of lergy-spreaders, especially the ones who live immediately across the Channel, and, of those, especially the French. Even “educated” internet users seem to believe that countries such as Russia, where the reported rate is only ~100, must be hiding most of their Covid-19 deaths.)
Many people have told me how Nazi in their manner many NHS GPs’ receptionists have become in the past few years. This is now getting worse as basically the only message they have got for most of the “patients” who request the attention of their admired money-grabbing bosses is “F*ck off”. They seem to be enjoying delivering this message with gusto, often in a tone of voice that suggests that people who phone up for help with their health are antisocial, trying to get something for nothing, trying to queue jump, hardly deserving of being told the time of day, possibly infectious or contagious, etc. It’s as though asking for help from NHS services is begging, and as though beggars don’t have a right to be given charity, or any right to anything, especially any call on the attention of their “betters”.
No prizes for guessing the effect this must be having on the numbers of “excess deaths”. I really don’t care what official statistics say, because this must be the case. And of course (this is obvious, but let’s say it) it’s also having a big effect on the sheer amount of misery that many many people are suffering because of physical ailments. The attitude seems to be “Waited 6 months for your operation? Well wait 10 years more for all we care, if you survive at all, you presumptuous m***erf*****.
This is not happening in all countries.
Unfortunately the population in Britain are far too deferential to recognise what’s going on, at least outside of the family and outside gatherings of more than about two people. To some extent it has been always been like that where health services have been concerned – many hospitals have a terrible reputation in the surrounding local area, but people tend to think that particular hospital is exceptional in that respect – but it has got far worse.
So let’s compare with other countries.
In Germany, most people have been able to see “their GPs” throughout the whole of the SARS-CoV2 epoch so far. GPs aren’t hiding and getting their staff to tell patients to f*** off, as they are in Britain.
This is a thread for comparison. Can people who have reliable knowledge (i.e. not from the media, but from direct personal contacts) from other countries please post about the situation there. If your information includes what social class and income group any patients belong to who HAVE successfully managed to see GPs (or similar), please post that too.
N_
For once I almost fully agree with your message (although not entirely with your expletives). The NHS has become the Covid Health Service. This total disregard from the media about what has happened is appalling especially since BJ has the temerity to claim success because covid-19 did not grind the health service to a halt. Well it has but not by overwhelming it. It is a sign that the government and the bosses of the NHS are totally unable to multitask or to see beyond their noses.
Unlike you however I think this is not because of the evil money grabbing GPs but is part of the general omnishambles that this government is. Or could this also be one of the ways to accelerate privatization of the NHS as the general population becomes disgruntled and the magic solution will of course be full privatization. Setting up services to fail is a well tried mechanism to do so.I agree, at our local GP all appointments have to be made on the same day at 8am, everyone has to phone at that time and wait in a queue. You cannot phone on a monday and make an appointment for wed, or friday for example , nope, not allowed. And still only doing phone appointments. They are killing people with stress. It’s a national disgrace.
That’s the standard technique of privatization: defund, make sure things don’t work, people get angry, you hand it over to private capital.
Noam ChomskyThe real national disgrace is how we are all being played by a Tory government into believing that the NHS will never be good enough so privatisation by stealth is done akin to the NHS dentistry service.
