Can the Tories be trusted with OUR National Health Service

Fitzy we could pay a little bit more tax each (each according to their ability) and have a world class health system.
Or the better off could pay a LOT more for private health care, which will only give them partial cover. Because we don't have a network of full-service private hospitals do we. They'd still end up in NHS when the chips were down.
And the thing about private health cover is that they older you get, the more it costs.

The point was that she didn't answer the question. She didn't say what you said, because she knew that the problem is that if the unit is closed women would have to travel 40 miles over narrow roads to the nearest one.
You obviously don't live in the North. The other thing is that for specialist treatment patients will have to come to Newcastle. Even the A69 has problems in the winter, a distance of over 90 miles, Workington to Newcastle.

Tomorrow's i is about maternity units.

The affected areas where maternity services are marked to shut or move substantial distances include Lancashire and South Cumbria, West Yorkshire and Harrogate, South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Rutland, Birmingham and Solihull, Milton Keynes, Dorset, Coventry and Warwickshire.

Our analysis comes a week after the Royal College of Midwives’ annual report said maternity services across Britain could already reach “crisis point”, as more than a third of British midwives are nearing retirement age.

From this article

inews.co.uk/nhs/revealed-11-maternity-units-face-closure/

women have to go 40 miles over narrow roads? what on earth are you on about? do they have to walk? 40 miles driving takes 20 minutes of that.

In my view "select" units do have to close. They are pretty unsustainable.

For those who think that taxes don't matter, there is to be a shakeup of business taxes in April.
Amazon will get a bill of £340,000 less.
The NHS will get a bill of £600 million more.
How do you think they are going to pay that? There is no separate pot for business rates. It comes out of the money to pay for frontline services.

Where are you getting your "facts" from durhamjen? the internet? the newspapers? do you believe all this?

Have you ever been to the Lake District?
Do you actually drive?
40 miles will take 40 minutes at 60mph. To take 20 minutes you would have to drive twice as fast. In the Lake District? It's illegal anywhere, but dangerous in the Lake District.

My eldest son was born at 2.45 am. Glad I didn't live in a rural place then.

Which facts are you complaining about now, saak?

was it your choice to live rural or were you made to? did you not understand what that would mean?

You've got a problem with reading what I say, haven't you? I didn't say I lived in a rural place. That's not what this is about. It's about people who do live in rural Cumbria and their NHS services being cut. I do live in a rural place, but it's half way between two hospitals and takes 15 minutes to get to either.

In fact, it's about everybody's NHS services being cut.

All the facts I put on here about the NHS are from a series of investigations in the i. They are about the 44 STPs which Hunt is railroading through, which the i has managed to get hold of and decipher when it's difficult for anyone else to do it, and put it in language that ordinary people can understand.
44% of the STPs are talking about consolidating services on fewer sites. That means that many of us will have to travel further for our NHS care.

By the way, do you drive? Your fact about driving 40 miles in 20 minutes is slightly wrong, isn't it?

120 mph?? You'll be needing the NHS sooner than you might think SAAK!!
Or the Co-op funeral services

Im laughing here, i got that wrong about the mph.

Rural life does mean lack of immediate care.

Im not always sure about what durhamjen means though.

We did once think of moving to Cumbria, before we moved to York. Went to see a guest house on the Pennine Way. I then realised I would have been carsick every time we went to the cash and carry, so we decided not to.
My husband was driving very slowly and carefully round all the bends.

However, at the moment, it doesn't mean travelling 40 miles to the next maternity unit. It will only mean that if the unit closed. That's why May was asked about it, and did not answer it.
It's on the news now; in the Conservative leaflet the NHS is not mentioned once.

Do you understand all that,saak?
I tried to keep it simple.

I totally get you durhamjen... not . Also not sure why anyone would "hide" their opion. i went for brexit and pretty proud i did too. don't hide it at all.

What are you on about?
What has Brexit to do with NHS closures?
It's no wonder you don't understand me if that's what you think it's about.

Who is talking about hiding their opinion?
I think you are getting your threads mixed up.

wasn't talking to you there on half the thread jen. but maybe you thought i was?

I asked who is talking about you hiding your opinion on this thread.
I asked why you think the NHS cuts have anything to do with Brexit.
Two quite reasonable questions, I would have thought.

Or did you get that as wrong as the speed?

Apologies. I didn't know the article I posted was behind a paywall. The Times says readers can share their articles, but I guess that can't include social media. In any event, the basic point made was that no matter how hard successive governments have tried, and no matter how high we set tax rates - including the 83% top rates of the Labour govts of the 70s (I think they actually taxed some income at102% - bizarre) we never manage to increase the overall tax take to much over 35% of GDP. Despite its reputation for austerity the current govt. is collecting close to the realistic maximum and is actually spending around 45%. It has to borrow to make up the difference and it can't realistically borrow any more without piling up the debt. We can debate how to split the cake, and ways of increasing GDP so we have a bigger cake (the economy is growing quite well at the moment), and how we spend money within individual budgets, but its hard to see how we can collect a much higher proportion of GDP via taxation. I do agree that a bespoke tax for the NHS might work. If people knew exactly where the money was going they may be less inclined to arrange their affairs to avoid paying more tax - which is a major reason why increasing taxes too much doesn't seem to bear much fruit.

If we cant have anymore due to no tax increase, then the NHS is probably at the best that we can expect.

Personally, and this is only personally, I do think we are like little children sometimes and just keep saying more more more.

Also, I have come to realise that we think and definitely expect things to get better and better and better as years and decades and centuries roll by. Why?

There are often threads on gransnet about the young complaining about baby boomers.
But are we not just the same in a way with always thinking and very much expecting that things should always improve.

All the facts I put on here about the NHS are from a series of investigations in the i.

I hardly like to say or ask this, but here goes!

Quoting things from places, I think, needs to be double-checked by others.
[I need to be careful what I say here].

So, much as people dislike links, posters are not prepared to take on face value, what others write.

They also want to read things in context, check out the source, and check out other things.

So, much as I hate to say this, if you are going to quote from elsewhere, the links are needed [it hurt me to say that! ]

That's a very interesting post, Fitzy54.

Put things in perspective.

The links are there Ankers. You just can't be bothered to read them.

Anyone who wants to know about the STPs would do well to look at the www.inews.co.uk where all the closures and mergers are listed.

There is a lot of praise for the series from those who work in the NHS; also from Norman Lamb, who asked for a cross-party solution for the NHS. Needless to say, the government said no.
Why? What have they got to hide?

NHS England now admits that trusts are nearly £1 billion in deficit. They had a "control target" of £580 million.

Today should have been the only day when the elderly were not blamed for what is happening in the NHS.
One article was headed "Ageing British mothers add to strain on NHS resources".
12,000 more women aged over forty have given birth each year since 2001. That's what you get for not being rich enough to have all your babies earlier.

Is that the only reason? Rather a sweeping statement, durhamjen.

I thought many were reluctant to give up their careers and only had a baby as a sort of afterthought because they thought they 'should'.

"So, much as I hate to say this, if you are going to quote from elsewhere, the links are needed [it hurt me to say that! grin]"

11 links since Monday, Ankers. Lots for you to read.
The articles also link to the original STPs, many of which contain 100 pages at least, for you to read the originals.
You might have a problem with the phraseology.
Happy reading!