The Hung Like a Donkey General Election December 2019 Thread

[hippo]

18 minutes ago, Chindie said:

The Tory plan for the NHS isn't too get rid of it. It's to make it into a brand. Run for profit under the umbrella of what it used to be. Slowly drained. Push private care due to 'NHS failings'. Get a cracking return on those shares.

Yep - Kaiser Permentee as it is called in the US - Like the NHS but with a profitable element so is much more expensive and its only for people in work.

I actually they will keep a streamlined NHS - but basically they will give you a leaflet and some stretching exercises (some times these are even over the phone)

I would urge everyone who is borderline in this election - to google procedures of limited clinical value\priority  for there postcode. Its absolutely staggering - read that  and then come back on here and tell me that Labour is scaremongering. It is real Folks.

 

[hippo]

39 minutes ago, HanoiVillan said:

I'm sorry to hear about your health problems hippo. You make some very important points in that post. 

Thing is due to treatments I have had - I work lead a normal healthy life , I am very active - without those treatments I would probably be out of work , in pain, and dependent on state benefits.

[bickster]

 

[ml1dch]

 

If ever there were a constituency that needed the Labour candidate to take one for the team...

[Amsterdam_Neil_D]

1 hour ago, bobzy said:

 

“Mega-corporations see Boris Johnson’s toxic alliance with Donald Trump as a chance to make billions from sick people in Britain and around the world,” Corbyn writes.

I dont think this has any chance of ever happening personally and if Corbyn is using this as the "Don't vote for them because",  seems desperate and he may have amazing powers of future prediction,  he predicted a Labour majority a week or so ago so we will all see how it goes.  If the public believe him that the NHS is going then he will get a Majority as the issue is that serious.  What if the Tories do a small deal to get some medication cheaper and saves the NHS money ? Not all deals are inherently bad,  that just cant be.  

[snowychap]

Looks as though Johnson has let slip their NI policy in advance of the manifesto release:

 

IFS graph from Grauniad live page:

[hippo]

5 minutes ago, Amsterdam_Neil_D said:

“Mega-corporations see Boris Johnson’s toxic alliance with Donald Trump as a chance to make billions from sick people in Britain and around the world,” Corbyn writes.

I dont think this has any chance of ever happening personally and if Corbyn is using this as the "Don't vote for them because",  seems desperate and he may have amazing powers of future prediction,  he predicted a Labour majority a week or so ago so we will all see how it goes.  If the public believe him that the NHS is going then he will get a Majority as the issue is that serious.  What if the Tories do a small deal to get some medication cheaper and saves the NHS money ? Not all deals are inherently bad,  that just cant be.  

The Tories aren't daft - they will do it by stealth. There will never be a big announcement "No more free care on the NHS"  - What you will find is that that less and less treatments will be available on the NHS - You might not even notice, as GP will simply not refer you to a Hospital for a treatment (As the GP holds the funds) - you won't know treatment that was available - no longer is. I was told that the best treatment for facet joint pain - was to take pain killers and do stretching - Despite the fact that steroid injections had helped me massively in the past - it was only when I pushed I got the treatment - GP was happy for me to be dependent on opiods.

I don't agree with everything Corbyn says - but he is 100% right on this. Call it what you want - affordable healthcare for all will go or be massively reduced if the Tories win the Election.

[Amsterdam_Neil_D]

Just now, hippo said:

The Tories aren't daft - they will do it by stealth

I suppose this is a possible method and I 100% agree if this was to happen everyone should stop it.  I just think they have bigger fish to fry at the moment and I would hope there are mechanisms in place to prevent it or there should be.  Protect it like the crown jewels should be the thinking on the NHS or even,  as if your life depended on it 

[hippo]

These are the services no longer routinely available on the NHS  from Dudley CCG - 

taken from Procedures of Limited

Clinical Priority Guide Lines  (freely available on the web)  

1
Adenoidectomy
2
Insertion of Grommets
3
Routine Ear Irrigation
4
Surgery for Snoring
5
Tonsillectomy
6
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
7
Dupuytren’s Disease
8
Ganglion
9
Trigger Finger
10
Autologous Cartilage Transplantation
11
Arthroscopy for Knee Osteoarthritis
12
Elective Hip Surgery
13
Knee Replacement Surgery
14
Spinal Fusion for Chronic Back Pain
15
Joint Injections
16
Cholecystectomy for Gallstones
17
Male Circumcision
18
Surgical Haemorrhoidectomy
19
Varicose Veins
20
Removal of Anal Skin Tags
21
Hysterectomy for Heavy Menstrual Bleeding
22
Diagnostic Hysteroscopy for Menorrhagia
23
Dilation and Curettage (D & C) for Menorrhagia
24
Reversal of Male Sterilisation
25
Reversal of Female Sterilisation
26
Routine Doppler Ultrasound of Umbilical and Uterine Artery in Antenatal Care
27
Non Specific, Specific and Chronic Back Pain
28
Cataract Surgery
29
Laser Surgery for Short Sight (Myopia)
30
Dental – Apicectomy, Dental Implants, Wisdom Teeth Removal
31
Botulinum Toxin Type A for Hyperhidrosis
32
Botulinum Toxin Type A for Spasticity
33
Complementary Medicines/Therapies
34
Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy for Refractory Plantar
35
Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy for Refractory Achilles Tendinopathy
36
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
37
Inpatient Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (Residential Placements) for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)/Mylagic Encephalomyelitis (MS)
38
Inguinal hERNIA REPAIR

[hippo]

4 minutes ago, Amsterdam_Neil_D said:

I suppose this is a possible method and I 100% agree if this was to happen everyone should stop it.  I just think they have bigger fish to fry at the moment and I would hope there are mechanisms in place to prevent it or there should be.  Protect it like the crown jewels should be the thinking on the NHS or even,  as if your life depended on it 

See my post above services that are no longer available on NHS  

[snowychap]

11 minutes ago, hippo said:

Insertion of Grommets

[mjmooney]

18 minutes ago, hippo said:

Insertion of Grommets

 

[snowychap]

 

[cyrusr]

Lib Dems again coming in 3rd with their own antisemitic candidate: - 

The Lib Dems Have Suspended A Candidate Who Repeatedly Made Antisemitic Remarks 

Quote

Waheed Rafiq also said he wanted to “kiss” “cute black women”, appeared to endorse the Syrian dictator Bashar Assad and backed Donald Trump for president.

The Liberal Democrats are facing a racism storm ahead of their manifesto launch on Wednesday, after the party was forced to suspend an election candidate who made a string of antisemitic comments.

Waheed Rafiq, the Lib Dem candidate in Birmingham Hodge Hill, posted on Facebook in 2010: “shocking to see how the Jewish government call them self Jews when they are wiping out all the people of Gaza”.

In posts uncovered by BuzzFeed News, Rafiq repeatedly made antisemitic remarks, said he wanted to “kiss” “cute black women”, appeared to endorse the Syrian dictator Bashar Assad and backed Donald Trump for president.

The Lib Dems initially signalled they would continue to support Rafiq's candidacy while they investigated the posts, but then suspended him following publication of this story.

A spokesperson said he would be removed from all roles with the party and would no longer receive their backing during his election campaign.

In a post from 2014, Rafiq called on his Facebook friends to boycott WhatsApp because he claimed it was “Zionist backed”, and promoted an antisemitic trope about the Rothschilds.

“Please note Jeff Rothschild is the Vice President of Infrastructure software and thus also a share holder in Facebook,” he wrote. “There are other non Zionist apps such as the Telegram Messaging App. It's available on both android and apple users created by two brothers in Berlin. It's better encrypted, much safer and thus better than WhatsApp.

“Never forget WhatsApp is Zionist backed so all we do and say is monitored and can leave us vulnerable to be exploited later.”

In 2012, Rafiq posted a cartoon of a hook-nosed Jew wearing a Star of David hat.

In 2013, he tweeted at the singer Nicole Scherzinger: “I just one to kiss that cute black women [sic]”.

In another post from 2014, Rafiq shared an image from an anti-Israel demonstration with a Star of David flag and the words “Genocide, Apartheid, Holocaust”.

And in another 2014 tweet, he posted an image on Twitter showing a cartoon of a man going to heaven and another man burning in hell, with the caption: “Looks like Waheed had the right religion all along”.

Rafiq has been a Lib Dem council candidate and active member of the party in Birmingham for years, raising questions as to why his social media posts were not dealt with sooner.

But his political views also appear at odds with the Lib Dems. In 2012, he visited Syria and appeared to back the Assad regime.

In 2016, he tweeted at Donald Trump: “Muslims Love Trump”.

In 2010, he stood in the same Hodge Hill constituency, but for UKIP.

Rafiq did not respond to a request for comment.

Also, why was an ex UKIP member standing for Lib Dems? Surely given their main policies are completely at odds? 

[Sam-AVFC]

God.

Forget linking it to parties (although I probably should to make the post thread relevant) but there are really concerning patterns of anti-Semitic and Islamaphobic views being completely normalised in society. Social media seems to be the biggest problem as it's so easy for people to spout their bile in an echo chamber with no one being called out until it makes the papers a few weeks later.

On a marginally more positive note I've not heard anyone slagging off 'the Polish' for quite a few years!

[bickster]

9 minutes ago, Sam-AVFC said:

On a marginally more positive note I've not heard anyone slagging off 'the Polish' for quite a few years!

It got shortened to Them

[HanoiVillan]

Every party selects one or two absolute whoppers, because it's pretty hard to find more than 600 persuasive people with near-unimpeachable social media histories spread across the country. 

[Sam-AVFC]

3 minutes ago, bickster said:

It got shortened to Them

Depressingly accurate.

Where I grew up the only non-British people were Polish immigrants so they were always the lazy target for bigots. Nowadays the brown immigrant has definitely moved to the forefront even though they live in one of the least homogenous areas of the country.

I'm slightly sick of arguing with people about all of the much discussed no-go areas for white people in London. I've been told my experience of living in London for the last 10 years doesn't count, but some word removed who hasn't visited since 1982 definitely knows 'cos Tommy said'.

[hippo]

2 hours ago, bickster said:

 

Right that the NHS is top issue. I actually think Brexit is more or less done - who ever  wins the election.

Meanwhile the services like knee operations, hernia repair, are been withdrawn from the NHS.

[ml1dch]

18 minutes ago, hippo said:

Right that the NHS is top issue. I actually think Brexit is more or less done - who ever  wins the election.

You might have to expand on that. It's not "done" whoever wins the election. 

It's different levels of "not done", but it's going to dominate the next ten years of political discourse, irrespective of who forms the next Government.