2 quick rants about how Britain is different to how we pretend.
1. How can the 5th largest economy in the world's apparently only growth industry be foodbanks? How broken are we that we cannot give people enough to eat?
2. The NHS is most certainly not free even now. There are loads of health services that are not free. I am not talking about elective stuff. Core issues. Here are just 3-dentistry, eye tests, hospices.
No-one believes the Tories will sell the entire NHS. But there will be moreparticularly items to add to that list.
Brexit will not improve point 1.
I am sceptical when I listen to Labours nationalisation plans.
I can remember the days when we had power cuts, Red Robbo shutting down Longbridge at a moments notice on a whim, a mate of mine who was a carpenter working for The Council, left his job because was bored, as his boss told him he was only allowed to do little bit of work every day, to avoid jeopardising others, etc etc. When I was growing up it was accepted that private industry ran much more efficiently than anything that was state owned. The NHS seem particularly inefficient. Maybe they should also compete with private hospitals. Maybe they should provide an insurance based, more comprehensive service, in addition to what they currently do. Maybe some of the services they currently provide should only be available to those with increased cover. Shouldn't they just focus on efficiently providing basic health care. Some of the things they currently do are completely unproductive, for instance thousands of people that cant afford dental treatment, now turn up at A&E. The NHS problems are not solely about money.
My main point is that these things exist BEFORE Brexit.
Nationalisation is not always better, or always worse, than privatisation.
One prime example for nationalisation is the Railways. Firstly, the track and various other services ARE nationalised. And all Companies have to use them. What is the point of having Regional Railways (many of which are run by other countries' national railways). Show me a monopoly, and I'll show you how an oligopoly is worse.
Or power. Do people not realise (for example) that EDF Energy is actually "Electricite De France"?
The NHS problems are due to a lot of things, most notably the cost of ever-improving medicine. Efficient? Probably not. But your suggestions re "competing" with private hospitals are madness.
When you (and I) were growing up people accepted a whole load of rubbish as fact. Much like today.
My Brexit point was that even though foodbanks existed before Brexit, the damage to the economy post Brexit will exacerbate the problem.
Part of the problem with the NHS is it's inability to be flexible.
When I was in having an operation I would willingly have paid for a single room with an ensuite instead of being on a ward.
This was deemed to be impossible unless ALL of the treatment was deemed to be private healthcare and had ALL to be self funded.
Single rooms down the corridor were empty and I was taking up a bed space someone else may have been relying on for their own treatment.
Doesn't make sense to me.
I know lots of other people who have experienced the same sort of situation with either accommodation or type of available medical treatment.
They really don't seem to help themselves sometimes.
There should be a number of tiers available.
I said somewhere else the other day that people are generally reluctant to criticise the NHS, despite their massive blunders.
My father paid his NI, his whole life.
Yet when he was in his seventies he was forced to pay 4.5k for a knee operation, as he was struggling to walk, and couldn't wait 18 months for the NHS to do it.
Many of the NHS problems just don't get resolved.
The excuse for everything going wrong in a minute, will be because it is Winter, the same as last Winter, and the one before, and the one before that...……………………..
There are always stories about them paying Boots £1500 for a jar of cream.
The staff rob billions every year.
Why don't they dispense all our drugs?
Your GP could email the prescription off to a central location, and we could have them delivered by the Royal Mail the following day, saving a fortune.
The Sunday Times leads with Prime Minister Boris Johnson's promise to bring in tough new laws to "lock terrorists up and throw away the key" after it emerged that the London Bridge attacker, Usman Khan, was released part way through his sentence for a bomb plot. Writing in the paper, counter-terrorism expert Ian Acheson says warnings he gave four years ago that the parole system couldn't cope with terrorists were ignored by the government. "Soft justice plays Russian roulette with our lives" is the headline in the Sunday Express. Its story is based on an interview with a former counter-terror chief, Chris Phillips, who criticises the Appeal Court decision that allowed Khan's early release. The paper quotes senior lawyers it says want the assessment of prisoner danger levels to be taken out of judges' hands. The Observer says Mr Johnson's proposals - which it describes as "ultra hardline" - came as arguments about the blame for Friday's attack thrust the issue "into the centre of the election battle". The paper's editorial calls the prime minister's tougher sentencing proposals a "cynical bid to exploit tragedy for political gain" and argues they are a "ploy to deflect from the sweeping cuts and botched reforms" of the police, prison and probation services.
The Sunday Telegraph disagrees. Its opinion piece says sentencing has been "too lenient for too long" and the release of an extremist who went on to kill reflects a "catastrophic institutional failure".
Almost all of the papers feature photographs of Jack Merritt, the only victim to be named so far. Most were taken at his graduation from the University of Cambridge, although the Sunday Times pictures him on holiday with his girlfriend. The Sunday Mirror says Mr Merritt, who worked to rehabilitate offenders, was killed by a fanatic he wanted to help. The Sunday People shows the 25 year-old celebrating with his parents and uses a tribute from his father as the basis for its headline: "Beautiful spirit who took the side of the underdog." Meanwhile, the Mail on Sunday publishes claims about the Duke of York's business affairs. The paper includes a statement from Buckingham Palace which says that, during the duke's years as the UK's trade envoy, "the aim, and that of his office, was to promote Britain and British interests overseas, not the interests of individuals". And the Sunday Telegraph covers a report about the dangers lurking in make-up bags. A study of 500 used items such as lipstick and eyeliner has discovered that more than half harbour "potentially deadly" bacteria - including e-coli. Experts from Aston University warn that people are risking skin and eye infections and even blood poisoning if items used to apply make-up are not cleaned regularly. As the paper says - that "could take the gloss off the party season".
General election: Boris Johnson’s lead halved, putting UK in ‘hung parliament territory’, latest poll reveals Conservatives now only six points ahead of Labour, exclusive survey for The Independent finds – the minimum needed to deliver Commons majority
Boris Johnson was personally warned about risks of freeing terrorists but said there was ‘no money’ to deradicalise them, ex-top prosecutor says Damaging claim comes as solicitor for London Bridge attacker says he asked for help to turn away from terrorism – but was not given any
Is Britain heading for ANOTHER hung parliament? Opinion polls tighten as Boris Johnson and the Tories' lead over Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party narrows in the run up to December 12 New BMG Research survey puts Tories on 39 per cent and Labour on 33 per cent Latest YouGov poll gives Conservatives a nine point lead as Labour gain ground Labour also making gains in a number of other polls as race for No10 tightens
Part of the problem with the NHS is it's inability to be flexible.
When I was in having an operation I would willingly have paid for a single room with an ensuite instead of being on a ward.
This was deemed to be impossible unless ALL of the treatment was deemed to be private healthcare and had ALL to be self funded.
Single rooms down the corridor were empty and I was taking up a bed space someone else may have been relying on for their own treatment.
Doesn't make sense to me.
I know lots of other people who have experienced the same sort of situation with either accommodation or type of available medical treatment.
They really don't seem to help themselves sometimes.
There should be a number of tiers available.
I said somewhere else the other day that people are generally reluctant to criticise the NHS, despite their massive blunders.
My father paid his NI, his whole life.
Yet when he was in his seventies he was forced to pay 4.5k for a knee operation, as he was struggling to walk, and couldn't wait 18 months for the NHS to do it.
Many of the NHS problems just don't get resolved.
The excuse for everything going wrong in a minute, will be because it is Winter, the same as last Winter, and the one before, and the one before that...……………………..
There are always stories about them paying Boots £1500 for a jar of cream.
The staff rob billions every year.
Why don't they dispense all our drugs?
Your GP could email the prescription off to a central location, and we could have them delivered by the Royal Mail the following day, saving a fortune.
Just some views and forecasts from 2006.In my style😊 I do know a chemist dispenser who says the chemists are in big competition with each other.
Part of the problem with the NHS is it's inability to be flexible.
When I was in having an operation I would willingly have paid for a single room with an ensuite instead of being on a ward.
This was deemed to be impossible unless ALL of the treatment was deemed to be private healthcare and had ALL to be self funded.
Single rooms down the corridor were empty and I was taking up a bed space someone else may have been relying on for their own treatment.
Doesn't make sense to me.
I know lots of other people who have experienced the same sort of situation with either accommodation or type of available medical treatment.
They really don't seem to help themselves sometimes.
There should be a number of tiers available.
I said somewhere else the other day that people are generally reluctant to criticise the NHS, despite their massive blunders.
My father paid his NI, his whole life.
Yet when he was in his seventies he was forced to pay 4.5k for a knee operation, as he was struggling to walk, and couldn't wait 18 months for the NHS to do it.
Many of the NHS problems just don't get resolved.
The excuse for everything going wrong in a minute, will be because it is Winter, the same as last Winter, and the one before, and the one before that...……………………..
There are always stories about them paying Boots £1500 for a jar of cream.
The staff rob billions every year.
Why don't they dispense all our drugs?
Your GP could email the prescription off to a central location, and we could have them delivered by the Royal Mail the following day, saving a fortune.
Just some views and forecasts from 2006.In my style😊 I do know a chemist dispenser who says the chemists are in big competition with each other.
There is no and. It's a collection of views from 13 years ago, trying to foresee the way the health service was going to continue, in whatever shape or form. It doesn't contain any sensationalistic, half-baked, factless media hype though. So won't interest most ☺
Your GP could email the prescription off to a central location, and we could have them delivered by the Royal Mail the following day, saving a fortune.
Just some views and forecasts from 2006.In my style😊 I do know a chemist dispenser who says the chemists are in big competition with each other.
And?
The chemists obviously make a profit, if they were cut out it would save a fortune.
On top of that you have the following,
Boots charge NHS £1,500 for single pots of moisturiser that sell for £2 Boots the chemist is charging the National Health Service obscene amounts of money for products that sell for a fraction of the price in-store. A Times investigation has revealed that the high street chain has charged the NHS as much as £1,500 for single pots of moisturiser that others have sold for less than £2. Boots […]
Payment figures for more than a million prescriptions for specials reveal huge disparities in the price the health service is paying for the drugs from a variety of manufacturers. In the past four years, it has been charged: • £1,323 for 400ml of an ointment for severe skin problems, for which it paid the equivalent of £1.90 one month later. • Up to £860 for mixtures of hydrocortisone cream and aqueous cream. • £650 for tubs of bespoke coconut oil that can cost £1. • £2,200 for chewable vitamin supplements that can cost a 46th of that. • £45.47 for preservative-free eye drops that can be sourced for less than £1.
NHS hit for millions by overcharging ‘scam’ Drug companies exploit loophole in the law to hike prices by as much as 2,000 per cent
Drugs companies have been accused of “highway robbery” of the NHS by using a legal loophole to push up the price of medicines in some cases by up to 2,000 per cent – at a cost to the taxpayer of tens of millions a year.
Fraud could be costing NHS in England £5.7bn a year, says report
The NHS in England could be losing up to £5.7bn a year to fraud from its £100bn budget, a report suggests. A review - led by former NHS anti-fraud boss Jim Gee - highlighted fraud by pharmacists, dentists, GPs and patients
The biggest sources of fraud in the NHS Area Scams used Estimated value per year Payroll False allowance claims and incorrect qualifications used £555m - £1.49bn Procurement Overcharging for goods and services or under-delivery £1bn - £1.27bn General practice Claims for services not provided and for ghost patients £348m Patients Claim for free prescriptions, dental care and optician services they are not entitled to £304m Dentistry Claims for dental work not carried out £121m - £137m Pharmacy Staff claiming for more drugs than actually dispensed or for services not provided £83m - £96m
There is nothing new about fraud in the NHS. The scams are all too familiar - whether it's health service managers purchasing hospital supplies and taking backhanders or corrupt GPs claiming they have patients who don't actually exist.
Investigation squads are to be introduced in the NHS to cut multi-million pound health service fraud. Health Minister Alan Milburn has announced the creation of national and regional teams of fraudbusters to target those stealing NHS money and to produce policies to prevent theft. Fraud is estimated to cost the NHS£150m a year. Past cases of NHS fraud include:
A dentist who claimed £212,000 over two years by submitting claims for patients who did not exist; An optician who claimed for eye tests and the supply of glasses to dead patients; A GP and a pharmacist who conspired to cheat the prescription system of more than £1m; A storeman who, over a period of one year, accepted gifts as payment for placing 40 years worth of orders from a supplier; A patient who falsely claimed more than £2,500 a year in travel expenses to an outpatient clinic. The move comes ahead of an Audit Commission report, which is expected to criticise the lack of effort to track down the perpetrators of NHS fraud. Mr Milburn said: "The overwhelming majority of patients and professionals would not dream of stealing from the NHS but a small minority of patients and health service staff are doing just that. "Every time they commit fraud, patient care suffers. Those who are exploiting the system are not only cheating taxpayers, they are depriving patients of the care they need." Fraud takes many forms
Alan Milburn: determined to root out fraud Mr Milburn said NHS fraud took many forms, sometimes it was low value and opportunistic, and other times high value and committed by skilled and highly organised criminals. "Combating fraud in the NHS is a professional job. The presumption should be about preventing fraud by designing systems to stop it happening in the first place," he said. "But where it occurs there should be an equal presumption that its perpetrators will face tough action." The initiative will be coordinated by a new Directorate of Counter Fraud Services (DCFS). There will also be new regional teams of specialist fraud-busters working with health authorities and other NHS organisations in all parts of the country. The aim is to reduce fraud to an "absolute minimum within 10 years" and save at least £75m a year by cutting prescription fraud by the year 2003. The new Director of DCFS, Jim Gee, said: "From April 1999, we will be investing more than £4m in our counter-fraud work. "We will ensure that trained accredited professionals are in place in each part of the health service, tasked with taking effective action against fraud. "We will build a unified counter-fraud structure of accredited staff who are able to make the best use of information and equipment to deal decisively with a problem which is of concern to all of us. By these means we will give the NHS the care and protection it deserves."
The Guardian says Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been accused of "twisting the facts" in the London Bridge attack in an attempt to turn it into an election issue after he blamed Labour for the release of the terrorist. The paper says his comments came despite the family of one of the victims, Jack Merritt, saying they did not want the murder of their son exploited.
HuffPost UK agrees that the prime minister is facing claims of ignoring the wishes of the victim's family for political gain.
The prime minister's interview with Andrew Marr features heavily among the sketch writers and editorials. In the Guardian, John Crace describes Mr Johnson as a man who can only "talk in staccato bursts of white noise - an incoherent stream of unconsciousness designed to run down the clock in any public appearance".
Henry Deedes in the Daily Mail says "each time Marr tried to get a question in - almost begging on occasion - Boris shouted him down". He compares it to "Softy Walter versus Dennis the Menace". The encounter was "scrappy, shouty and ill-tempered on both sides" according to Jane Merrick in the i. The Sun calls the programme "farcical" and blames the interviewer for not allowing the prime minister to get "a word in edgeways". It captions its opinion piece "Marr's attacks".
Finally, the Times reports that readers are swapping their Kindles for headphones - with research suggesting sales of audiobooks are set to overtake ebooks. The paper says spoken storytelling is enjoying a resurgence thanks to the increased sophistication of headphones and celebrity narrators, which allow readers to enjoy the content in unprecedented sound quality. It adds that audiobooks are expected to generate £115m in the UK next year - up 30% on 2018. The most popular one this year was the Dickens' classic, David Copperfield read by actor Richard Armitage.
Adam Price says Boris Johnson 'unfit for public life' due to 'bum boy' remarks The leader of Plaid Cymru said that neither Boris Johnson nor Donald Trump are "fit to be in public life" because of their offensive comments
ITV debate: Nigel Farage faces fury over excuse for Donald Trump 'p***y-grab' jibe There were gasps from the fellow panellists of the Brexit Party leader as he said "men say dreadful things sometimes" - such as on a "night out after a drink"
Your GP could email the prescription off to a central location, and we could have them delivered by the Royal Mail the following day, saving a fortune.
Just some views and forecasts from 2006.In my style😊 I do know a chemist dispenser who says the chemists are in big competition with each other.
And?
The chemists obviously make a profit, if they were cut out it would save a fortune.
On top of that you have the following,
Boots charge NHS £1,500 for single pots of moisturiser that sell for £2 Boots the chemist is charging the National Health Service obscene amounts of money for products that sell for a fraction of the price in-store. A Times investigation has revealed that the high street chain has charged the NHS as much as £1,500 for single pots of moisturiser that others have sold for less than £2. Boots […]
Payment figures for more than a million prescriptions for specials reveal huge disparities in the price the health service is paying for the drugs from a variety of manufacturers. In the past four years, it has been charged: • £1,323 for 400ml of an ointment for severe skin problems, for which it paid the equivalent of £1.90 one month later. • Up to £860 for mixtures of hydrocortisone cream and aqueous cream. • £650 for tubs of bespoke coconut oil that can cost £1. • £2,200 for chewable vitamin supplements that can cost a 46th of that. • £45.47 for preservative-free eye drops that can be sourced for less than £1.
NHS hit for millions by overcharging ‘scam’ Drug companies exploit loophole in the law to hike prices by as much as 2,000 per cent
Drugs companies have been accused of “highway robbery” of the NHS by using a legal loophole to push up the price of medicines in some cases by up to 2,000 per cent – at a cost to the taxpayer of tens of millions a year.
Fraud could be costing NHS in England £5.7bn a year, says report
The NHS in England could be losing up to £5.7bn a year to fraud from its £100bn budget, a report suggests. A review - led by former NHS anti-fraud boss Jim Gee - highlighted fraud by pharmacists, dentists, GPs and patients
The biggest sources of fraud in the NHS Area Scams used Estimated value per year Payroll False allowance claims and incorrect qualifications used £555m - £1.49bn Procurement Overcharging for goods and services or under-delivery £1bn - £1.27bn General practice Claims for services not provided and for ghost patients £348m Patients Claim for free prescriptions, dental care and optician services they are not entitled to £304m Dentistry Claims for dental work not carried out £121m - £137m Pharmacy Staff claiming for more drugs than actually dispensed or for services not provided £83m - £96m
There is nothing new about fraud in the NHS. The scams are all too familiar - whether it's health service managers purchasing hospital supplies and taking backhanders or corrupt GPs claiming they have patients who don't actually exist.
Investigation squads are to be introduced in the NHS to cut multi-million pound health service fraud. Health Minister Alan Milburn has announced the creation of national and regional teams of fraudbusters to target those stealing NHS money and to produce policies to prevent theft. Fraud is estimated to cost the NHS£150m a year. Past cases of NHS fraud include:
A dentist who claimed £212,000 over two years by submitting claims for patients who did not exist; An optician who claimed for eye tests and the supply of glasses to dead patients; A GP and a pharmacist who conspired to cheat the prescription system of more than £1m; A storeman who, over a period of one year, accepted gifts as payment for placing 40 years worth of orders from a supplier; A patient who falsely claimed more than £2,500 a year in travel expenses to an outpatient clinic. The move comes ahead of an Audit Commission report, which is expected to criticise the lack of effort to track down the perpetrators of NHS fraud. Mr Milburn said: "The overwhelming majority of patients and professionals would not dream of stealing from the NHS but a small minority of patients and health service staff are doing just that. "Every time they commit fraud, patient care suffers. Those who are exploiting the system are not only cheating taxpayers, they are depriving patients of the care they need." Fraud takes many forms
Alan Milburn: determined to root out fraud Mr Milburn said NHS fraud took many forms, sometimes it was low value and opportunistic, and other times high value and committed by skilled and highly organised criminals. "Combating fraud in the NHS is a professional job. The presumption should be about preventing fraud by designing systems to stop it happening in the first place," he said. "But where it occurs there should be an equal presumption that its perpetrators will face tough action." The initiative will be coordinated by a new Directorate of Counter Fraud Services (DCFS). There will also be new regional teams of specialist fraud-busters working with health authorities and other NHS organisations in all parts of the country. The aim is to reduce fraud to an "absolute minimum within 10 years" and save at least £75m a year by cutting prescription fraud by the year 2003. The new Director of DCFS, Jim Gee, said: "From April 1999, we will be investing more than £4m in our counter-fraud work. "We will ensure that trained accredited professionals are in place in each part of the health service, tasked with taking effective action against fraud. "We will build a unified counter-fraud structure of accredited staff who are able to make the best use of information and equipment to deal decisively with a problem which is of concern to all of us. By these means we will give the NHS the care and protection it deserves."
My previous comment about media hype wasn't referring to the NHS, but about nearly everything else that's in the news. I've already stated the NHS is a black hole.
I can give you another glimpse of fraud in the 70’s and 80’s involving a public company. There is a large Pakistani community in Woking, a lot worked for the Royal Mail. Some had mates clock them on,sometimes for double shifts, while they were out picking up taxi fares the whole time.
Boris Johnson accused of 'lying and misleading' about London Bridge terror attack
Boris Johnson has appeared to row back on comments made about the London Bridge terrorist after he was accused of “lying and misleading” in the wake of the tragedy. The Prime Minister had previously said terrorist Usman Khan was back on the streets because of laws introduced by a Labour “leftie government”. But Mr Johnson, after facing criticism for “politicising” the tragedy, looked to have doubled back on the remarks on Monday.
The Daily Telegraph says Labour is facing further questions about the source of classified documents it released last week, which the party said proved the NHS was "on the table" in a post-Brexit trade deal with the US. A report by independent researchers suggests the files were published online using methods similar to a Russian disinformation campaign earlier this year. The paper says Labour has not revealed how it obtained the dossier, but the party insists that neither the British nor the American governments have denied its authenticity.
Comments
When I was in having an operation I would willingly have paid for a single room with an ensuite instead of being on a ward.
This was deemed to be impossible unless ALL of the treatment was deemed to be private healthcare and had ALL to be self funded.
Single rooms down the corridor were empty and I was taking up a bed space someone else may have been relying on for their own treatment.
Doesn't make sense to me.
I know lots of other people who have experienced the same sort of situation with either accommodation or type of available medical treatment.
They really don't seem to help themselves sometimes.
I said somewhere else the other day that people are generally reluctant to criticise the NHS, despite their massive blunders.
My father paid his NI, his whole life.
Yet when he was in his seventies he was forced to pay 4.5k for a knee operation, as he was struggling to walk, and couldn't wait 18 months for the NHS to do it.
Many of the NHS problems just don't get resolved.
The excuse for everything going wrong in a minute, will be because it is Winter, the same as last Winter, and the one before, and the one before that...……………………..
There are always stories about them paying Boots £1500 for a jar of cream.
The staff rob billions every year.
Why don't they dispense all our drugs?
Your GP could email the prescription off to a central location, and we could have them delivered by the Royal Mail the following day, saving a fortune.
The Sunday Times leads with Prime Minister Boris Johnson's promise to bring in tough new laws to "lock terrorists up and throw away the key" after it emerged that the London Bridge attacker, Usman Khan, was released part way through his sentence for a bomb plot.
Writing in the paper, counter-terrorism expert Ian Acheson says warnings he gave four years ago that the parole system couldn't cope with terrorists were ignored by the government.
"Soft justice plays Russian roulette with our lives" is the headline in the Sunday Express. Its story is based on an interview with a former counter-terror chief, Chris Phillips, who criticises the Appeal Court decision that allowed Khan's early release.
The paper quotes senior lawyers it says want the assessment of prisoner danger levels to be taken out of judges' hands.
The Observer says Mr Johnson's proposals - which it describes as "ultra hardline" - came as arguments about the blame for Friday's attack thrust the issue "into the centre of the election battle".
The paper's editorial calls the prime minister's tougher sentencing proposals a "cynical bid to exploit tragedy for political gain" and argues they are a "ploy to deflect from the sweeping cuts and botched reforms" of the police, prison and probation services.
The Sunday Telegraph disagrees. Its opinion piece says sentencing has been "too lenient for too long" and the release of an extremist who went on to kill reflects a "catastrophic institutional failure".
Almost all of the papers feature photographs of Jack Merritt, the only victim to be named so far.
Most were taken at his graduation from the University of Cambridge, although the Sunday Times pictures him on holiday with his girlfriend.
The Sunday Mirror says Mr Merritt, who worked to rehabilitate offenders, was killed by a fanatic he wanted to help.
The Sunday People shows the 25 year-old celebrating with his parents and uses a tribute from his father as the basis for its headline: "Beautiful spirit who took the side of the underdog."
Meanwhile, the Mail on Sunday publishes claims about the Duke of York's business affairs. The paper includes a statement from Buckingham Palace which says that, during the duke's years as the UK's trade envoy, "the aim, and that of his office, was to promote Britain and British interests overseas, not the interests of individuals".
And the Sunday Telegraph covers a report about the dangers lurking in make-up bags. A study of 500 used items such as lipstick and eyeliner has discovered that more than half harbour "potentially deadly" bacteria - including e-coli.
Experts from Aston University warn that people are risking skin and eye infections and even blood poisoning if items used to apply make-up are not cleaned regularly. As the paper says - that "could take the gloss off the party season".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-50618422
General election: Boris Johnson’s lead halved, putting UK in ‘hung parliament territory’, latest poll reveals
Conservatives now only six points ahead of Labour, exclusive survey for The Independent finds – the minimum needed to deliver Commons majority
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/general-election-latest-poll-boris-johnson-jeremy-corbyn-bmg-hung-parliament-a9227476.html
Boris Johnson was personally warned about risks of freeing terrorists but said there was ‘no money’ to deradicalise them, ex-top prosecutor says
Damaging claim comes as solicitor for London Bridge attacker says he asked for help to turn away from terrorism – but was not given any
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-warned-london-bridge-attack-usman-khan-stabbing-terrorist-a9227681.html
New BMG Research survey puts Tories on 39 per cent and Labour on 33 per cent
Latest YouGov poll gives Conservatives a nine point lead as Labour gain ground
Labour also making gains in a number of other polls as race for No10 tightens
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7743205/Opinion-polls-tighten-Boris-Johnsons-lead-Jeremy-Corbyn-narrows.html
I do know a chemist dispenser who says the chemists are in big competition with each other.
It doesn't contain any sensationalistic, half-baked, factless media hype though.
So won't interest most ☺
The staff rob billions every year.
Why don't they dispense all our drugs?
Your GP could email the prescription off to a central location, and we could have them delivered by the Royal Mail the following day, saving a fortune.
Just some views and forecasts from 2006.In my style😊
I do know a chemist dispenser who says the chemists are in big competition with each other.
And?
The chemists obviously make a profit, if they were cut out it would save a fortune.
On top of that you have the following,
Boots charge NHS £1,500 for single pots of moisturiser that sell for £2
Boots the chemist is charging the National Health Service obscene amounts of money for products that sell for a fraction of the price in-store. A Times investigation has revealed that the high street chain has charged the NHS as much as £1,500 for single pots of moisturiser that others have sold for less than £2. Boots […]
Payment figures for more than a million prescriptions for specials reveal huge disparities in the price the health service is paying for the drugs from a variety of manufacturers. In the past four years, it has been charged:
• £1,323 for 400ml of an ointment for severe skin problems, for which it paid the equivalent of £1.90 one month later.
• Up to £860 for mixtures of hydrocortisone cream and aqueous cream.
• £650 for tubs of bespoke coconut oil that can cost £1.
• £2,200 for chewable vitamin supplements that can cost a 46th of that.
• £45.47 for preservative-free eye drops that can be sourced for less than £1.
https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/boots-charge-nhs-1500-single-pots-moisturiser-sell-2/02/02/
NHS hit for millions by overcharging ‘scam’
Drug companies exploit loophole in the law to hike prices by as much as 2,000 per cent
Drugs companies have been accused of “highway robbery” of the NHS by using a legal loophole to push up the price of medicines in some cases by up to 2,000 per cent – at a cost to the taxpayer of tens of millions a year.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/nhs-hit-for-millions-by-overcharging-scam-8708292.html
Fraud could be costing NHS in England £5.7bn a year, says report
The NHS in England could be losing up to £5.7bn a year to fraud from its £100bn budget, a report suggests.
A review - led by former NHS anti-fraud boss Jim Gee - highlighted fraud by pharmacists, dentists, GPs and patients
The biggest sources of fraud in the NHS
Area
Scams used
Estimated value per year
Payroll
False allowance claims and incorrect qualifications used
£555m - £1.49bn
Procurement
Overcharging for goods and services or under-delivery
£1bn - £1.27bn
General practice
Claims for services not provided and for ghost patients
£348m
Patients
Claim for free prescriptions, dental care and optician services they are not entitled to
£304m
Dentistry
Claims for dental work not carried out
£121m - £137m
Pharmacy
Staff claiming for more drugs than actually dispensed or for services not provided
£83m - £96m
There is nothing new about fraud in the NHS. The scams are all too familiar - whether it's health service managers purchasing hospital supplies and taking backhanders or corrupt GPs claiming they have patients who don't actually exist.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34326934
Health
Fraudbusters to root out NHS theft
NHS fraud compromises patient care
Investigation squads are to be introduced in the NHS to cut multi-million pound health service fraud.
Health Minister Alan Milburn has announced the creation of national and regional teams of fraudbusters to target those stealing NHS money and to produce policies to prevent theft.
Fraud is estimated to cost the NHS£150m a year.
Past cases of NHS fraud include:
A dentist who claimed £212,000 over two years by submitting claims for patients who did not exist;
An optician who claimed for eye tests and the supply of glasses to dead patients;
A GP and a pharmacist who conspired to cheat the prescription system of more than £1m;
A storeman who, over a period of one year, accepted gifts as payment for placing 40 years worth of orders from a supplier;
A patient who falsely claimed more than £2,500 a year in travel expenses to an outpatient clinic.
The move comes ahead of an Audit Commission report, which is expected to criticise the lack of effort to track down the perpetrators of NHS fraud.
Mr Milburn said: "The overwhelming majority of patients and professionals would not dream of stealing from the NHS but a small minority of patients and health service staff are doing just that.
"Every time they commit fraud, patient care suffers. Those who are exploiting the system are not only cheating taxpayers, they are depriving patients of the care they need."
Fraud takes many forms
Alan Milburn: determined to root out fraud
Mr Milburn said NHS fraud took many forms, sometimes it was low value and opportunistic, and other times high value and committed by skilled and highly organised criminals.
"Combating fraud in the NHS is a professional job. The presumption should be about preventing fraud by designing systems to stop it happening in the first place," he said.
"But where it occurs there should be an equal presumption that its perpetrators will face tough action."
The initiative will be coordinated by a new Directorate of Counter Fraud Services (DCFS).
There will also be new regional teams of specialist fraud-busters working with health authorities and other NHS organisations in all parts of the country.
The aim is to reduce fraud to an "absolute minimum within 10 years" and save at least £75m a year by cutting prescription fraud by the year 2003.
The new Director of DCFS, Jim Gee, said: "From April 1999, we will be investing more than £4m in our counter-fraud work.
"We will ensure that trained accredited professionals are in place in each part of the health service, tasked with taking effective action against fraud.
"We will build a unified counter-fraud structure of accredited staff who are able to make the best use of information and equipment to deal decisively with a problem which is of concern to all of us. By these means we will give the NHS the care and protection it deserves."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/229881.stm
NHS fraud could be £7 BILLION a year - yet counter-fraud budget 'cut by 30%'
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/new-role-for-hugh-grant-as-he-joins-luciana-berger-on-campaign-trail/ar-BBXBOth?ocid=spartandhp
The Guardian says Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been accused of "twisting the facts" in the London Bridge attack in an attempt to turn it into an election issue after he blamed Labour for the release of the terrorist.
The paper says his comments came despite the family of one of the victims, Jack Merritt, saying they did not want the murder of their son exploited.
HuffPost UK agrees that the prime minister is facing claims of ignoring the wishes of the victim's family for political gain.
The prime minister's interview with Andrew Marr features heavily among the sketch writers and editorials.
In the Guardian, John Crace describes Mr Johnson as a man who can only "talk in staccato bursts of white noise - an incoherent stream of unconsciousness designed to run down the clock in any public appearance".
Henry Deedes in the Daily Mail says "each time Marr tried to get a question in - almost begging on occasion - Boris shouted him down". He compares it to "Softy Walter versus Dennis the Menace".
The encounter was "scrappy, shouty and ill-tempered on both sides" according to Jane Merrick in the i.
The Sun calls the programme "farcical" and blames the interviewer for not allowing the prime minister to get "a word in edgeways". It captions its opinion piece "Marr's attacks".
Finally, the Times reports that readers are swapping their Kindles for headphones - with research suggesting sales of audiobooks are set to overtake ebooks.
The paper says spoken storytelling is enjoying a resurgence thanks to the increased sophistication of headphones and celebrity narrators, which allow readers to enjoy the content in unprecedented sound quality.
It adds that audiobooks are expected to generate £115m in the UK next year - up 30% on 2018. The most popular one this year was the Dickens' classic, David Copperfield read by actor Richard Armitage.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-50625156
The leader of Plaid Cymru said that neither Boris Johnson nor Donald Trump are "fit to be in public life" because of their offensive comments
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/adam-price-says-boris-johnson-21006638
There were gasps from the fellow panellists of the Brexit Party leader as he said "men say dreadful things sometimes" - such as on a "night out after a drink"
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/itv-debate-nigel-farage-faces-21006176
I do know a chemist dispenser who says the chemists are in big competition with each other.
And?
The chemists obviously make a profit, if they were cut out it would save a fortune.
On top of that you have the following,
Boots charge NHS £1,500 for single pots of moisturiser that sell for £2
Boots the chemist is charging the National Health Service obscene amounts of money for products that sell for a fraction of the price in-store. A Times investigation has revealed that the high street chain has charged the NHS as much as £1,500 for single pots of moisturiser that others have sold for less than £2. Boots […]
Payment figures for more than a million prescriptions for specials reveal huge disparities in the price the health service is paying for the drugs from a variety of manufacturers. In the past four years, it has been charged:
• £1,323 for 400ml of an ointment for severe skin problems, for which it paid the equivalent of £1.90 one month later.
• Up to £860 for mixtures of hydrocortisone cream and aqueous cream.
• £650 for tubs of bespoke coconut oil that can cost £1.
• £2,200 for chewable vitamin supplements that can cost a 46th of that.
• £45.47 for preservative-free eye drops that can be sourced for less than £1.
https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/boots-charge-nhs-1500-single-pots-moisturiser-sell-2/02/02/
NHS hit for millions by overcharging ‘scam’
Drug companies exploit loophole in the law to hike prices by as much as 2,000 per cent
Drugs companies have been accused of “highway robbery” of the NHS by using a legal loophole to push up the price of medicines in some cases by up to 2,000 per cent – at a cost to the taxpayer of tens of millions a year.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/nhs-hit-for-millions-by-overcharging-scam-8708292.html
Fraud could be costing NHS in England £5.7bn a year, says report
The NHS in England could be losing up to £5.7bn a year to fraud from its £100bn budget, a report suggests.
A review - led by former NHS anti-fraud boss Jim Gee - highlighted fraud by pharmacists, dentists, GPs and patients
The biggest sources of fraud in the NHS
Area
Scams used
Estimated value per year
Payroll
False allowance claims and incorrect qualifications used
£555m - £1.49bn
Procurement
Overcharging for goods and services or under-delivery
£1bn - £1.27bn
General practice
Claims for services not provided and for ghost patients
£348m
Patients
Claim for free prescriptions, dental care and optician services they are not entitled to
£304m
Dentistry
Claims for dental work not carried out
£121m - £137m
Pharmacy
Staff claiming for more drugs than actually dispensed or for services not provided
£83m - £96m
There is nothing new about fraud in the NHS. The scams are all too familiar - whether it's health service managers purchasing hospital supplies and taking backhanders or corrupt GPs claiming they have patients who don't actually exist.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34326934
Health
Fraudbusters to root out NHS theft
NHS fraud compromises patient care
Investigation squads are to be introduced in the NHS to cut multi-million pound health service fraud.
Health Minister Alan Milburn has announced the creation of national and regional teams of fraudbusters to target those stealing NHS money and to produce policies to prevent theft.
Fraud is estimated to cost the NHS£150m a year.
Past cases of NHS fraud include:
A dentist who claimed £212,000 over two years by submitting claims for patients who did not exist;
An optician who claimed for eye tests and the supply of glasses to dead patients;
A GP and a pharmacist who conspired to cheat the prescription system of more than £1m;
A storeman who, over a period of one year, accepted gifts as payment for placing 40 years worth of orders from a supplier;
A patient who falsely claimed more than £2,500 a year in travel expenses to an outpatient clinic.
The move comes ahead of an Audit Commission report, which is expected to criticise the lack of effort to track down the perpetrators of NHS fraud.
Mr Milburn said: "The overwhelming majority of patients and professionals would not dream of stealing from the NHS but a small minority of patients and health service staff are doing just that.
"Every time they commit fraud, patient care suffers. Those who are exploiting the system are not only cheating taxpayers, they are depriving patients of the care they need."
Fraud takes many forms
Alan Milburn: determined to root out fraud
Mr Milburn said NHS fraud took many forms, sometimes it was low value and opportunistic, and other times high value and committed by skilled and highly organised criminals.
"Combating fraud in the NHS is a professional job. The presumption should be about preventing fraud by designing systems to stop it happening in the first place," he said.
"But where it occurs there should be an equal presumption that its perpetrators will face tough action."
The initiative will be coordinated by a new Directorate of Counter Fraud Services (DCFS).
There will also be new regional teams of specialist fraud-busters working with health authorities and other NHS organisations in all parts of the country.
The aim is to reduce fraud to an "absolute minimum within 10 years" and save at least £75m a year by cutting prescription fraud by the year 2003.
The new Director of DCFS, Jim Gee, said: "From April 1999, we will be investing more than £4m in our counter-fraud work.
"We will ensure that trained accredited professionals are in place in each part of the health service, tasked with taking effective action against fraud.
"We will build a unified counter-fraud structure of accredited staff who are able to make the best use of information and equipment to deal decisively with a problem which is of concern to all of us. By these means we will give the NHS the care and protection it deserves."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/229881.stm
NHS fraud could be £7 BILLION a year - yet counter-fraud budget 'cut by 30%'
My previous comment about media hype wasn't referring to the NHS, but about nearly everything else that's in the news.
I've already stated the NHS is a black hole.
There is a large Pakistani community in Woking, a lot worked for the Royal Mail.
Some had mates clock them on,sometimes for double shifts, while they were out picking up taxi fares the whole time.
Boris Johnson has appeared to row back on comments made about the London Bridge terrorist after he was accused of “lying and misleading” in the wake of the tragedy.
The Prime Minister had previously said terrorist Usman Khan was back on the streets because of laws introduced by a Labour “leftie government”.
But Mr Johnson, after facing criticism for “politicising” the tragedy, looked to have doubled back on the remarks on Monday.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/boris-johnson-accused-of-lying-and-misleading-about-london-bridge-terror-attack/ar-BBXEVR7?ocid=spartanntp
The Daily Telegraph says Labour is facing further questions about the source of classified documents it released last week, which the party said proved the NHS was "on the table" in a post-Brexit trade deal with the US.
A report by independent researchers suggests the files were published online using methods similar to a Russian disinformation campaign earlier this year.
The paper says Labour has not revealed how it obtained the dossier, but the party insists
that neither the British nor the American governments have denied its authenticity.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-50638610