The Shape of Things to Come

[Seaham Towny]

It's a difficult one like. The entire country is saturated with mcdonlands and KFC type developments , and endless rows of take aways where grocery shops and bakers etc... Used to be.


Exactly. All these nuclear subs and the whole world is on its knees due to something you can only see with a microscope and doesn't give a fuck what country you are from

Don’t get me wrong I love a KFC/McDonalds from time to time, same with a takeaway. I also know if I eat them too often I’m going to get fat due to the high calorie content.

We’ve had years of anti smoking legislation and educating kids on the dangers of it, now hardly any of them do it.

Do the same with nutrition information. Info on exercise, might take decades but we’ll get there eventually. Teach bairns basic cooking skills as well. The amount of people from my school who ballooned as soon as they left home because they didn’t have that fundamental life skill is ridiculous.

 

[Gaggoears]

I went to an Obesity seminar around 15 years ago, ran by Sunderland council, had a load of health professionals all talking a good game in how to halt the growing obesity crisis.

Fast forward to now, it’s 10x worse.

Impossible to stop it now, too far ingrained into modern society.

Noticed McDonald's advertising the new triple cheeseburger a month or so ago, classy.

 

[Hansel]

We have leaned a few things during this pandemic but one thing for sure is that we need more paramedics and ambulances. An increase in ICU and AMU capacity also and in fact several other aspects of the NHS infrastructure if we are to keep ahead of the curve in future global pandemics which could become more common due to global warming.

I also questioned of what use is my local GPs. The last year I needed them twice but all I got was a Nurse Practitioner over the telephone. I wonder whether the doctors have disappeared into an underground bunker and only raise the periscope once in a while to check if the pandemic is over. On the other hand you have front line nurses and doctors operating in the equivalent of a war zone.

So do we really need GPs themselves? Personally I think this is an areua that artificial intelligence would be very effective. Connected to a huge medical database an AU unit would be extremely quick to diagnose. OK, GPs would have to downgrade and become technicians with a corresponding drop in wages and they wont like that but technology has affected the rest of society and to deny the inevitable is liking waiting until sea level reaches your ankles and still denying we have a problem.

We need to revamp the NHS and once this pandemic is over that would be a good time to modernise and streamline the whole system. Let's face it modern GPs are nothing like the old family doctors of decades ago. Personally, I'd rather consult an AU.

I'm working with two GPs at the moment who are helping out on acute medical wards. In the first wave I was on a palliative covid ward and we had two GPs then as well. One of them got covid and was quite poorly with it. Can't speak for them all but they certainly aren't all off the radar. Maybe your doctors aren't there because they're at the front line.

 

[Sir Lancelot]

Only way to do that is not vote Tory.

Have Labour made a commitment to getting rid of GPs?

I'm working with two GPs at the moment who are helping out on acute medical wards. In the first wave I was on a palliative covid ward and we had two GPs then as well. One of them got covid and was quite poorly with it. Can't speak for them all but they certainly aren't all off the radar. Maybe your doctors aren't there because they're at the front line.

The trouble is that too many of them are off the radar with no explanation for their absence.

I know that my health is substantially worse than it was last year because of medication changes made before covid. But can I hell get near a GP to be properly assessed to either represcribe the original medication or change it to something else. I’ve just gone through three days of completely unnecessary pain this week and felt suicidal over it. GPs need to get back to normal working and access and stop twattting around. There is zero excuse for them being out of sight now that most of them will have had their vaccinations.

 

[tunstallhill]

Don’t get me wrong I love a KFC/McDonalds from time to time, same with a takeaway. I also know if I eat them too often I’m going to get fat due to the high calorie content.

We’ve had years of anti smoking legislation and educating kids on the dangers of it, now hardly any of them do it.

Do the same with nutrition information. Info on exercise, might take decades but we’ll get there eventually. Teach bairns basic cooking skills as well. The amount of people from my school who ballooned as soon as they left home because they didn’t have that fundamental life skill is ridiculous.

I think smoking became very inconvenient, and very expensive.

For me, that would be the most effective way to get people to eat healthy. Unfortunately it's the other way round at the moment.

 

[Mercia Blackcat]

Have Labour made a commitment to getting rid of GPs?

The trouble is that too many of them are off the radar with no explanation for their absence.

I know that my health is substantially worse than it was last year because of medication changes made before covid. But can I hell get near a GP to be properly assessed to either represcribe the original medication or change it to something else. I’ve just gone through three days of completely unnecessary pain this week and felt suicidal over it. GPs need to get back to normal working and access and stop twattting around. There is zero excuse for them being out of sight now that most of them will have had their vaccinations.

I agree and although I was classed as clinically extremely vulnerable and my medication for COPD needed changing I couldn't get near a GP. I was sceptical at first but found the Nurse Practitioner I was channelled off to was decent. I'd rather consult her now than a GP. She talks to you as an equal in a two way conversation whereas I am finding the doctors are too far up their own arse. Maybe I'm getting old.

Despite this, one of the practices GPs rang my son the other to day to question whether he still needed co-codamol because of his post-shingles neuralgia in the head that he suffers from. At one point she told him to shut up, then cancelled his repeat prescription for co-codamol and told him to use ibuprofen even though he is asthmatic. She's a quack and I have no doubt that an AI unit attended by a nurse/technician would have given sounder advice.

 

[Frijj]

I think smoking became very inconvenient, and very expensive.

For me, that would be the most effective way to get people to eat healthy. Unfortunately it's the other way round at the moment.

I’d vote for a fatty foods tax, but the reaction on here to the sugar tax was

- Why should I have to pay more for sugary drinks just because some people can’t stop drinking them?

- I am responsible and am being punished because some people aren’t

- This is a nanny state government

- It’s a regressive tax

So long as we have people like that, we will never make progress

 

[Buzzer]

Don’t get me wrong I love a KFC/McDonalds from time to time, same with a takeaway. I also know if I eat them too often I’m going to get fat due to the high calorie content.

We’ve had years of anti smoking legislation and educating kids on the dangers of it, now hardly any of them do it.

Do the same with nutrition information. Info on exercise, might take decades but we’ll get there eventually. Teach bairns basic cooking skills as well. The amount of people from my school who ballooned as soon as they left home because they didn’t have that fundamental life skill is ridiculous.

The irony of my earlier post is that we're having a takeaway pizza tonight

Nowt wrong with the occasional fast food meal, but there's clearly a significant problem in this country with high intake of poor quality food and a sedentary lifestyle.

My missus, who works on general and vascular surgery, sees the effect it has on people daily. The number of people smoking keeps decreasing, but this is going the other way.

 

[Sir Lancelot]

I agree and although I was classed as clinically extremely vulnerable and my medication for COPD needed changing I couldn't get near a GP. I was sceptical at first but found the Nurse Practitioner I was channelled off to was decent. I'd rather consult her now than a GP. She talks to you as an equal in a two way conversation whereas I am finding the doctors are too far up their own arse. Maybe I'm getting old.

Despite this, one of the practices GPs rang my son the other to day to question whether he still needed co-codamol because of his post-shingles neuralgia in the head that he suffers from. At one point she told him to shut up, then cancelled his repeat prescription for co-codamol and told him to use ibuprofen even though he is asthmatic. She's a quack and I have no doubt that an AI unit attended by a nurse/technician would have given sounder advice.

That is why we need pharmacists! Did she at least ask if he had used ibuprofen previously as the guidance is that if you are asthmatic but have used ibuprofen before without any problems then use it with care. If you have never used ibuprofen then don’t start. But a doctor should be more aware.

 

[Mercia Blackcat]

That is why we need pharmacists! Did she at least ask if he had used ibuprofen previously as the guidance is that if you are asthmatic but have used ibuprofen before without any problems then use it with care. If you have never used ibuprofen then don’t start. But a doctor should be more aware.

No he doesn't use ibuprofen and when he told her that after she suggested its use, she just brushed him off. All she was interested in was taking away the codeine element of co-codamol. When he said "So I am expected to just live in pain for the rest of my life" she just said yes. To be honest he told her to go fuck herself and has changed doctors. Her attitude was disgusting and yet they expect a god-like respect.

The manager of a Wrexham care home has committed suicide because of the effect of watching so many of his clients die from lack of oxygen when no GP would go to the care home because of Covid to authorise more oxygen. Some of them may be helping in Covid wards but I have seen nothing to indicate that from my own GPs who seem to be simply hiding away.

 

[Pnematic]

Too many 24 hour McDonalds. Should never get planning permission.

How about if someone gets over a certain size then they have to apply for planning permission .

Ive seen smaller porches than some of the wobblers.

 

[Sir Lancelot]

I’d vote for a fatty foods tax, but the reaction on here to the sugar tax was

- Why should I have to pay more for sugary drinks just because some people can’t stop drinking them?

- I am responsible and am being punished because some people aren’t

- This is a nanny state government

- It’s a regressive tax

So long as we have people like that, we will never make progress

It’s not that easy. Retailers used the tax to put up the price on all soft drinks, not just the full fat versions. So even if you opted for a lower calorie drink you still got taxed more so why bother changing your habits?

Secondly, how do you define healthy food and unhealthy food? Anything will make you fat if you eat too much of it. Admittedly you might need to eat your own body weight of lettuce every day to go over the calorie allowance but it would still make you fat.

Realistically the buck stops with the food or drink manufacturer. They should be set calorie limits on foods and be taxed extra on any food or drink that exceeds those limits. Maybe even take it further and tax the retailer for selling it as well.

They might also want to take a long hard look at the role of artificial sweeteners and the like to see if all of them can be removed from foods in order to eliminate the risk of extra illness being caused by them.

You are not going to stop people eating Greggs just by sticking a couple of pence on a steak bake. What you really need to do is force Greggs to make their steak bake as healthily as possible with the minimum number of calories.

 

[Frijj]

It’s not that easy. Retailers used the tax to put up the price on all soft drinks, not just the full fat versions. So even if you opted for a lower calorie drink you still got taxed more so why bother changing your habits?

Secondly, how do you define healthy food and unhealthy food? Anything will make you fat if you eat too much of it. Admittedly you might need to eat your own body weight of lettuce every day to go over the calorie allowance but it would still make you fat.

Realistically the buck stops with the food or drink manufacturer. They should be set calorie limits on foods and be taxed extra on any food or drink that exceeds those limits. Maybe even take it further and tax the retailer for selling it as well.

They might also want to take a long hard look at the role of artificial sweeteners and the like to see if all of them can be removed from foods in order to eliminate the risk of extra illness being caused by them.

You are not going to stop people eating Greggs just by sticking a couple of pence on a steak bake. What you really need to do is force Greggs to make their steak bake as healthily as possible with the minimum number of calories.

With respect, I'm not saying it would be easy. I'm not setting out a fully fledged and costed policy on the SMB at 8pm on a Saturday evening, I'm just saying I would advocate a tax that had the broad aim of reducing the intake of unhealthy food.

Your first criticism of the sugar tax is not one of the sugar tax, it is one of the behaviour of shopkeepers.

How do we define healthy and unhealthy food? Well, I'd refer you to my first paragraph in which I state I am not trying to set out a fully-formed policy but broadly speaking, you could look at the overall nutritional value or relationships between them, as well as calories and weight of food, etc. I am not a nutritionist or a dietician, I would leave such decisions to the people who are experts in that field.

It's not about putting "a couple of pence" on a steak bake, ideally it would be significantly more than a few pence, but we do need to balance issues of personal choice with this. A world with no unhealthy foods would be disastrously f***ing boring. I don't want Greggs to stop selling steak bakes, I don't want McDonalds to stop selling Big Macs and I don't want Coca-Cola to stop making cans of Coke.

What I want and what I think society needs, is a multi-faceted approach to tackling patterns of unhealthy consumption. One arm of that is using taxation to disincentive consumption of certain products, but that's tackling a symptom and not the cause, it does need to go deeper than that, but I don't think that limiting the range of available products is the option. What we need is broad, sweeping change that educates people to make the right choices.

 

[RichB]

I know I am biased but I think I am still useful as a GP however I had to leave the UK as working in the NHS was unbearable.

Most decisions I make aren't black and white so AI wouldn't cut it in my opinion also if you want sparky the robot to tell you that you have cancer then rather you than me. There is a huge human element in what I do every day.

The NHS doesn't need streamlined it's funded on a per capita level about the same as some poor eastern European countries.

I would never come back to work in the NHS to be screamed at on a regular basis , working 12 hour days and being treated like a would be criminal by the GMC.

 

[SurreyMackem]

I know I am biased but I think I am still useful as a GP however I had to leave the UK as working in the NHS was unbearable.

Most decisions I make aren't black and white so AI wouldn't cut it in my opinion also if you want sparky the robot to tell you that you have cancer then rather you than me. There is a huge human element in what I do every day.

The NHS doesn't need streamlined it's funded on a per capita level about the same as some poor eastern European countries.

I would never come back to work in the NHS to be screamed at on a regular basis , working 12 hour days and being treated like a would be criminal by the GMC.

Not what this says, we are no where near the highest spenders but no Eastern European countries are near or above us.

How does UK healthcare spending compare with other countries? - Office for National Statistics

Healthcare spending in the UK compared with other countries.

www.ons.gov.uk

 

[Jap Stammer]

stop spending ludicrous amounts on aircraft carriers and divert it to nhs.

Niece's boyfriend is a PT instructor in the Navy and one of his more recent postings was to oversee the fitting out of the gyms on the new Carriers.

Reckons they are state of the art, no expense spared.

Modern Aircraft-carriers, especially the massive American ones, are like floating miniature cities.

 

[Cappuccino Kid]

Noticed McDonald's advertising the new triple cheeseburger a month or so ago, classy.

always think the fast food places become the easy target/scapegoat in these discussions. Yeah they’re not particularly healthy but also not particularly cheap or substantial for what you get - I’m sure the archetypal person from a fairly poor background with a fairly poor diet can’t afford to eat at these type of places that regularly.

Its the frozen food places who are a much bigger problem imo. Farmfoods, Iceland etc. Walked past Iceland today and there was a huge sign in the window - 2 frozen pizzas, a bag of frozen chips, a box of some other frozen crap that i cant remember, and a box of ice creams for just £5.

 

[herra soul mob]

always think the fast food places become the easy target/scapegoat in these discussions. Yeah they’re not particularly healthy but also not particularly cheap or substantial for what you get - I’m sure the archetypal person from a fairly poor background with a fairly poor diet can’t afford to eat at these type of places that regularly.

Its the frozen food places who are a much bigger problem imo. Farmfoods, Iceland etc. Walked past Iceland today and there was a huge sign in the window - 2 frozen pizzas, a bag of frozen chips, a box of some other frozen crap that i cant remember, and a box of ice creams for just £5.

hmmm, iceland you say ?

 

[Gaggoears]

always think the fast food places become the easy target/scapegoat in these discussions. Yeah they’re not particularly healthy but also not particularly cheap or substantial for what you get - I’m sure the archetypal person from a fairly poor background with a fairly poor diet can’t afford to eat at these type of places that regularly.

Its the frozen food places who are a much bigger problem imo. Farmfoods, Iceland etc. Walked past Iceland today and there was a huge sign in the window - 2 frozen pizzas, a bag of frozen chips, a box of some other frozen crap that i cant remember, and a box of ice creams for just £5.

Good point. I just got 10 sausage and beans pasties from Iceland ( jan half price sale £1 ) with fries and a double pack of Guinness.
4 ice cream flakes thrown in for free delivery, shameful really.

 

[SAFCOldie]

Good point. I just got 10 sausage and beans pasties from Iceland ( jan half price sale £1 ) with fries and a double pack of Guinness.
4 ice cream flakes thrown in for free delivery, shameful really.

Sausage and bean pasties.. Well you learn something every day either way it is a disgrace to see listed buildings having kebab shop signs on them, WTF is going on, sleepwalking to nonsense.