tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25200961.post7914537212086917606..comments2024-03-14T09:50:40.819+00:00Comments on Dr Grumble: An article courtesy of red pepperDr Grumblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04417731064007601504noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25200961.post-12676363926799291232013-10-16T10:50:09.729+01:002013-10-16T10:50:09.729+01:00Nice article. very interesting, thanks for sharing...Nice article. very interesting, thanks for sharing.PPLIChttp://opinion.inquirer.net/61475/philippine-prudential-life-no-relation-to-ppinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25200961.post-50026615946892233652010-11-09T10:28:37.659+00:002010-11-09T10:28:37.659+00:00"IDS welfare reform proposals are well worth ..."IDS welfare reform proposals are well worth reading, he has very carefully considered the issues. They are not savage cuts, more an arrangement of incentives to eliminate the poverty trap".<br /><br />Not everybody takes such a sanguine view Dr Phil, as far as I can tell plaudits are mostly coming from those nicely insulated from the effects of IDS's, er, vision?<br /><br />There is a post by RedMiner that is causing a bit of a sensation on the net (see first comment after main article)<br />http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/07/workfare-coalition-helps-jobless?showallcomments=true#comment-8299740 <br /><br />RM says, "in the new Dark Age heralded in by IDS, every morning will be Christmas Morning for the beneficiaries, the businesses who will exploit this measure to access free labour, the talk of charities being a transparent smoke screen to hide the fundamental dismantling of the human right for a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.<br /><br />Make no mistake, this is just the beginning. Anyone who thinks that once the principle of unpaid labour has breached the social repugnance it generates that it will stop at a month’s work for ‘idlers’ is the kind of fool the Tories are relying on get this through. These are the descendants of people who built vast fortunes and empires on the sweat and death of their factories and workhouses; they are past masters at dressing up inequality and evil in Protestant work ethics and biblical rhetoric denouncing the peril of idleness – except where it’s practised in its purest forms of course, by digital fortune shufflers and land owning parasites drawing their subsidies while they indulge Mediterranean waves with their oversized cock-yachts".<br /><br />I must admit doctors championing welfare cuts grates a bit - given that British medics are some of the best paid in Europe how come you don't volunteer a 20% pay cut (surely no great hardship for anyone on £100k) - or will we get the usual rhetoric about how you do not earn as much as top city lawyers?the a&e charge nursenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25200961.post-32839526327119756062010-11-06T00:09:11.624+00:002010-11-06T00:09:11.624+00:00To Anonymous 02/11 12:39,
Your comment (pasted be...To Anonymous 02/11 12:39,<br /><br />Your comment (pasted below) was absolutely spot on as I sadly know from personal experience:<br /><br />"If you were struck down by chronic incapacitating illness prior to becoming a rich consultant how would you have felt about being dependent on a Tory government that demonises the poor and vulnerable as benefit scum?"<br /><br />I don't fit into any of the demonised categories the media rants and raves about on disability benefits (workshy, alcoholics, self inflicted illness such as overdose, drug addicts or the obese. I am severely debilitated by a multisystemic illness that hit around 4 years ago and if you think I have nothing to fear from the government who claim they "are only after fraudsters and genuine claimants have nothing to fear" then as God is my witness you must be living in cloud cuckoo land to think that. <br /><br />My Drs can vouch for the fact that there's no way I'm "fit for work" and wont be able to work (even part time or voluntarily) when my ESA expires next year. I am one of those genuine claimants that the government says should have "nothing to fear" but this time next year, I'll be shoved onto JSA and told to sign on every two weeks (even though I'm housebound so wont be able to go) and ordered to look for work if I want my benefits to continue. <br /><br />I am not the exception- this problem is rife and I resent the implication that the government is doing us all a big favour in screwing with and squeezing the most poor and vulnerable members of society. <br /><br />Sorry to derail the discussion from Dr Grumble's initial post which was fascinating (and I will pass it around), but I felt Drphilyerboots needs to wake up from his delusions of what these government changes will do to people on the ground.<br /><br />NeeluAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25200961.post-23759809641255154702010-11-03T06:57:14.690+00:002010-11-03T06:57:14.690+00:00While there are not enough jobs it does seem that ...While there are not enough jobs it does seem that able immigrants seem to find employment easily. Some of these have entered as highly skilled migrants but have taken jobs that could be done by home-grown less skilled workers. But there are also unskilled people working in the fields who are prepared to do jobs no English worker would take on.<br /><br />For a healthy society and the health of individuals we do need to have as many people in work as possible and it does seem to me that the benefit system can lock some people out of work and this can be on <a href="http://drgrumble.blogspot.com/2008/02/im-on-benefit-doctor.html" rel="nofollow">doubtful health grounds</a>.Dr Grumblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04417731064007601504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25200961.post-25082664841897433912010-11-03T01:01:50.066+00:002010-11-03T01:01:50.066+00:00"The private sector will create the jobs and ..."The private sector will create the jobs and prosperity if the conditions and incentives are right. When initiative and industry are rewarded, and bettering oneself is not punished either by the welfare poverty trap, or penal taxes."<br /><br />Spot on Dr Phil! ... add to that that the public sector too will function with much greater effeciency and at much lower cost if a similar culture of fair pay, incentives and rewards for excellence are in place. So, in addition to what you said, remove the CEAs from effecient and innovative consultants or work the juniors for peanuts as well as 'fr free' and they will stagnate and the whole operation will become much more costly as is the case now, because of that lack of 'ownership' which you have rather brilliantly explained in your comment.<br /><br />Freebies are notoriously expensive, fairness pays ... always! ... but no one is listening out there!Samnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25200961.post-12752521667100561302010-11-03T00:22:19.521+00:002010-11-03T00:22:19.521+00:00Dear all
first I must apologise to Dr G for the o...Dear all<br /><br />first I must apologise to Dr G for the overuse of his excellent blog!<br /><br />In reverse order; <br /><br />Sam: I have no problems with the Milibands property speculation and legal tax dodges, merely wish to point out that for Ed Miliband to inherit nearly a quarter of a million pounds in 1994 aged 25 years is a lump sum that makes him fairly comfortable (though no amount of money makes up for the loss of a parent). State educated maybe, like Dr Phil, but definitely financially secure in a a way I was not at the same age.<br /><br />To anonymous: yes I am in good health, partly through my own efforts, and this is a great blessing. I have no problem with those legitimately in poor health getting welfare, but am sceptical that poor health has tripled in the UK over the last two decades to account for the rise in sickness benefit. If so it is a damning indictment of the NHS. This moves people from out of work benefits to disability benefits, massaging the figures, but statistically those on long term disability are the least likely to re-enter employment. All three main parties want to get people off the sick, and into work, not just the Tories. The beneficiaries in the article cited by the a and e charge nurse seem to have been hit by rules brought in by the Last Labour government.<br /><br />Like it or not, it is agreed across all 3 main parties that there are many on sickness benefit who are capable of some sort of work. It is not a Tory policy, not a Coalition policy, it is also Labour Party Policy. <br /><br />A and E charge nurse: I think that you make the common mistake that jobs are finite in number, and that EU migrants are taking British workers jobs. I would not agree with either view, though it does raise the question of why Latvians and Poles are willing to work the fields of England as unskilled labour, while the descendents of English farmworkers are not. <br /><br />Jobs can be created, take my Private practise for instance. Assume that I invoice for £130k. 30k goes to my secretarial and clerical staff as salary. The work keeps the private hospital solvent with it's fifty workers employed. I take £100k as earnings, and £45k in tax is paid (enough to pay the salary of a band 6 A and E nurse for the NHS). The remaining £55k I spend as I choose, with a further gain for the taxman via VAT, and livings generated for both car and golf club retailers. <br /><br />Now imagine a govt bans private medicine and CEAs. I fulfil my NHS commitment the same as now. I go home early and play more golf (albeit on the municipal course). My private secretary is made redundent, my tax bill goes down, there are redundancies at both the private hospital, and government ones including the Band 6 A and E nurse that I was paying for. I'm sure you get the picture.<br /><br />The private sector will create the jobs and prosperity if the conditions and incentives are right. When initiative and industry are rewarded, and bettering oneself is not punished either by the welfare poverty trap, or penal taxes.<br /><br />I think I have said enough now, a busy day looms again tommorow.<br /><br />Dr PhilAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25200961.post-9496570416892904442010-11-02T19:55:00.661+00:002010-11-02T19:55:00.661+00:00A professor IS a middle class hard working parent,...A professor IS a middle class hard working parent, isn't he? and [260,000] inheritance share of a house of 1.3m + bits and pieces is not what rich means these days Dr Phil ... afterall, that house was bought as a 'home' by prof for much less and just went up in value over the years like everybody else's ... the boys are inteligent and hard working alright, and do deserve the rewards that brings ... that's what striving for excellence is about; do it well and reap the reward ... just like you :-)Samhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09558370387772079822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25200961.post-65210416509306067272010-11-02T12:39:02.412+00:002010-11-02T12:39:02.412+00:00I am not priveliged by birth, unlike Miliband, Har...<i>I am not priveliged by birth, unlike Miliband, Harman or Blair. I am state educated and inheireted nothing but a work ethic, my comfortable life is down to my own hard work. I do recognise that not all have my talents or stable family background, but am convinced that the Coalition welfare reforms are the right thing for both the poor and the finances of the country.</i><br /><br />And presumably you have benefited from good health which allows you to stay in employment. <br /><br />Do you really think it is fair for the Tory government to blame those who are ill and diseased (and I'm not talking about alcoholics here) for the financial crisis and to remove their DLA and Incapacity Benefits?<br /><br />If you were struck down by chronic incapacitating illness prior to becoming a rich consultant how would you have felt about being dependent on a Tory government that demonises the poor and vulnerable as benefit scum?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25200961.post-70571343080042830472010-11-02T09:15:07.745+00:002010-11-02T09:15:07.745+00:00I fear we may be derailing this incredibly importa...I fear we may be derailing this incredibly important post into a a party political broadcast which as most people know tend to be boring at the best of times, but I will just quickly pick you up on x2 points, Dr Phil.<br /><br />[1] Doctors should think very carefully before taking the ATOS shilling (if they care a fig about their credibility)?<br />"The TUC has identified a number of case studies who have been awarded "0 points" by Atos and declared fit to work, despite previously having been declared too ill to do so - When they met with Atos Sue Hutchings had breast cancer and was awaiting surgery, while John Watkins had his arm in plaster from his shoulder to his fingertips following an operation. Yet they were moved from ESA at £96.85 a week on to JSA at £65.45 a week, losing them each £1,632.80 a year in benefit support, and forcing them to start looking for work".<br />http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/mehdi-hasan/2010/10/benefit-claimants-work-atos<br /><br />Iain "get on bus" Duncan-Smith has merely updated Tebbit's "get on a bike" mantra about the work shy poor.<br />Simple fact is there is a mismatch between the number of jobseekers which EXCEED number of jobs available - EU rules about economic migration has significantly effected the UK job market, something the powerless poor have little influence over?the a&e charge nursenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25200961.post-31756650599816423302010-11-02T07:07:03.514+00:002010-11-02T07:07:03.514+00:00Dear Sam,
The Miliband brothers have certainly in...Dear Sam,<br /><br />The Miliband brothers have certainly inhereited wealth, and with a father who was a professor come from a privileged background. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article484468.ece<br /><br />20% each of a house valued at £1.3 million is no mean sum. I reckon that at around £220 000 in that property alone, not counting other inhereitances in their fathers will. They seem also seem expert at legally arranging their tax affairs to minimise redistribution of wealth. Some of David Millibands subsequent property deals are also interesting, not least as they were in part financed by us via the second homes allowance for MPs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25200961.post-63036975594590921502010-11-01T22:53:40.226+00:002010-11-01T22:53:40.226+00:00The Milibands are children of Polish immigrants. T...The Milibands are children of Polish immigrants. They do not come from a privilaged background but had harworking parents who cared. They were both educated at the same comprehensive school and got into the same college in Oxford for their degree in PPE through one of those reach out schemes. Good for both of them too!Samhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09558370387772079822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25200961.post-48332027142084625722010-11-01T21:23:03.829+00:002010-11-01T21:23:03.829+00:00I would not agree that kicking the poor is in the ...I would not agree that kicking the poor is in the Tory mindset. The difference between Tory and Labour mindset is in how the poor should be helped. The Labour party wants the poor to be dependent on the largese of the welfare state, the Tories want the poor to have assets and aspiration. Both parties do this for their own electoral advantage. For example the Tory sale of council houses at a discount to tenants allowed a large number to buy their own homes, and become the "Essex man" voters that kept them in power for a generation.<br /><br />Despite 13 years in power the last Labour government finished with higher unemployment than it started with, as have all previous Labour Governments, from 1926 to the present day. One might want to consider whether they are doing something wrong!<br /><br />IDS welfare reform proposals are well worth reading, he has very carefully considered the issues. They are not savage cuts, more an arrangement of incentives to eliminate the poverty trap. <br /><br />Many of the 8 million on out of work benefIts now are as a result of fiddling the figures under the last labour government. An example is the increase in those on Disability living allowance from 800 000 in 1997 to 2.5 million today. 200 000 are on these exclusively for alcoholism or drug addiction. Is it wise to give an alcoholic an extra £20 per week to spend on drink if they are not on treatment? Only ifone wants them to die more quickly I suppose...<br /><br />The Labour party recognises that the welfare state needs reform, and indeed getting people off disability benefits and into work, and capping housing benefit were in their manifesto in May. <br /><br />I am not priveliged by birth, unlike Miliband, Harman or Blair. I am state educated and inheireted nothing but a work ethic, my comfortable life is down to my own hard work. I do recognise that not all have my talents or stable family background, but am convinced that the Coalition welfare reforms are the right thing for both the poor and the finances of the country.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25200961.post-272191882356943212010-11-01T09:01:00.042+00:002010-11-01T09:01:00.042+00:00"The millions on out of work benefits, often ..."The millions on out of work benefits, often into the third generation, are testament to the failure of the british welfare state, and 13 years of Labour Government" - I'm sorry but this assertion is plain wrong, in fact, many are already drawing parallels with the coalitions slash and burn policy to Thatch in her pomp? <br /><br />According to this item "A White Paper introduced later in 1979 proposed 5% cuts, but the Tories said this was not enough and further cuts were demanded in subsequent budgets. By 1983 Thatcher had carried out cuts equivalent to 6% of GDP. The abiding memories of this Tory regime were classrooms with leaking roofs and buckets to collect the rain and interminable waits for operations in hospital.<br />UNEMPLOYMENT WENT THROUGH THE ROOF, partly because of the cuts. The jobless total rose 836,000 to 2.13 million in 1980, the sharpest jump in a year since 1930. By 1982 2.7 million people had lost their jobs. If the way of counting had stayed the same, unemployment would actually have peaked at 3.3 million.<br />So Thatcher did something else that the Con Dems have been at since coming to office. She fiddled the figures. There were 29 different CHANGES to the jobless count under the Tories, all of which reduced the overall total".<br />http://londonprogressivejournal.com/article/756/thatcher-and-the-last-tory-cuts<br /><br />In other words kicking the poor is deeply ingrained in the Tory mindset and since, Dr Grumble is already in a 'red pepper' sort of mood may I highlight another of their articles which looks at the terrible damage inflicted on communities following pit closures in Durham and Wales - acts which long predated the dreadful Mr Blair;<br />http://www.redpepper.org.uk/Dole-not-coalthe a&e charge nursenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25200961.post-23662040048657608262010-10-31T12:18:23.472+00:002010-10-31T12:18:23.472+00:00dear a and e charge nurse,
It is worth noting tha...dear a and e charge nurse,<br /><br />It is worth noting that IDS plans for welfare reform do not substantially cut the welfare bill, indeed in the short term they increase it. The purpose is to simplify it, making it easier for claimants to understand and to have an incentive to work at all levels of benefit.<br /><br />There is no doubt epidemiologically that unemployment is bad for peoples health and that work is good for both physical and mental health. <br /><br />The millions on out of work benefits, often into the third generation, are testament to the failure of the british welfare state, and 13 years of Labour Governmentdrphilyerbootsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25200961.post-74670482211343783232010-10-31T11:28:28.420+00:002010-10-31T11:28:28.420+00:00As I understand it, US healthcare outcomes are rou...As I understand it, US healthcare outcomes are roughly equivilant or inferior to ours (broad generalisation, inc some knowledge of cancer, heart disease stats etc) but healthcare costs are roughly double the UK's per capita. This paradox comes through wealthy people having access to as much medicine as they can eat while the poor have none.<br /><br />European countries (France, Germany, Switzerland) pay marginally more than the UK for healthcare per capita yet have measurably superior outcomes. Their model (again, generalising) is based partly on public funds and partly on private insurance - the companies providing the insurance are regulated to within an inch of their lives, however, and are not allowed to ration healthcare, turn people down due to chronic illness or discriminate against patients in any way.<br /><br />Which system sounds better: the expensive, ineffective one or the cheaper, more effective one? Which one is the more profitable? With the answers of these two questions in mind, then ask yourself which system are we beginning to emulate in the UK?<br /><br />Now look at the 'revolving door' part of the article and ask yourself why the architects of change in the NHS chose the path they did. The fat, greedy bastards...Junior Docnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25200961.post-7804027739268989242010-10-28T08:30:39.026+01:002010-10-28T08:30:39.026+01:00If you start with a healthcare market that is out ...If you start with a healthcare market that is out of control, an organisation like Kaiser makes a lot of sense. It makes much less sense to develop a market so that organisations like Kaiser can run it.Dr Peppernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25200961.post-19163217899063328082010-10-28T07:42:48.558+01:002010-10-28T07:42:48.558+01:00"I think that the welfare state needs to be b..."I think that the welfare state needs to be broken up", yes a common sentiment amongst the privileged.<br /><br />Oh how I chuckle when rich kids like Cameron & Clegg utter platitudes like "we are all in this together'.<br /><br />Ha, ha , ha , ha ..............the a&e charge nursenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25200961.post-11793213389604863122010-10-28T07:08:32.834+01:002010-10-28T07:08:32.834+01:00Dear anonymous 2:41,
Why on earth would I want to...Dear anonymous 2:41,<br /><br />Why on earth would I want to do that? I think that the welfare state needs to be broken up, or we go to the poorhouse together. Iain Duncan Smiths ideas are the best review of welfare since the war. There needs to be the incentive to work, and similarly the incentive to stay healthy. The reason that none of the major political parties find the current NHS tenable, is that it is the truth.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25200961.post-70732896469179874942010-10-28T06:56:17.497+01:002010-10-28T06:56:17.497+01:00"Whether there's anyone in the NHS intere..."Whether there's anyone in the NHS interested in hearing them is another matter" - well, Diane, it sounds like the coalition (and NuLab before them) are tripping over themselves to learn about managed care - problem is, none these bastards have been brave enough to involve the electorate in determining (in any meaningful way) how health services in the UK should be structured.<br /><br />Outside of blogs like this the majority of the British public simply have NO IDEA how far reaching these changes are going to be - that is wrong, surely?the a&e charge nursenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25200961.post-53961322882230339292010-10-28T03:18:53.416+01:002010-10-28T03:18:53.416+01:00Sorry to be the voice of dissent here, but I'm...Sorry to be the voice of dissent here, but I'm currently on a career break from PCT-land (in fact have subsequently lost my job in our PCT's management cost cutting exercises) and am in the US looking at healthcare here. In fact, I've just spent all day today in a Kaiser medical center talking to their top doctor and top administrator. And, ironically, they are the least market-orientated version of US healthcare you can get. Don't get me wrong: the US healthcare "system" overall is screwed big-time and sensible people over here know that, plus Kaiser can be selective in its patients, services (they don't treat major trauma for example) and doctors. But in terms of their quality initiatives and cost-efficiency measures, it's not anywhere near as mercenary as you've set out, and there are lessons we can take back to the NHS from there. Whether there's anyone in the NHS interested in hearing them is another matter. The worry is that the NHS's "Liberating" reforms will make the NHS look less like Kaiser and more like the rest of the US's dysfunctional healthcare system.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06285209101508152624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25200961.post-63538167036059158562010-10-28T02:41:35.696+01:002010-10-28T02:41:35.696+01:001. Go public, stay public.
2. Work together with o...1. Go public, stay public.<br />2. Work together with other groups fighting against the destruction of the welfare state.<br />3. Get out there on the streets.<br />4. Pass the message around the net again and again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25200961.post-85685646018268053992010-10-27T23:52:04.676+01:002010-10-27T23:52:04.676+01:00I substantially agree with the analysis in the Red...I substantially agree with the analysis in the Red Pepper article, but differ in my response. As I see it all three main English parties favour "reforming" the NHS in this way. There is a lot of disunity amongst doctors as to whether some or all of the ideas will work. I do not think the process can or will be stopped, so propose to make the best of this democratically decided decision.<br /><br />There are opportunities here for those with both business sense and clinical commitment to better many services. Competition is a strange beast and can worsen as well as improve services. I favour engagement at grass roots level. David Cameron spoke at the CBI this week promising that small businessess like my own Yerboots PLC will have a fair crack. Converting public sector monopolies to private sector ones does no good, a plurality and proliferation of small providers will have the flexibility and dynamism required.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25200961.post-7279216355663646142010-10-27T20:45:16.095+01:002010-10-27T20:45:16.095+01:00What an extraordinary sleight of hand - vanishing ...What an extraordinary sleight of hand - vanishing the NHS in front of our very eyes?<br /><br />Has there been a more important article written about the NHS?<br /><br />I assume since NuLab and the Coalition are both singing from the same hymn sheet there is virtually no prospect of derailing the march to full blown privatisation, and all the inequalities associated with a system driven by cash for care?the a&e charge nursenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25200961.post-32191887710321335102010-10-27T19:52:31.887+01:002010-10-27T19:52:31.887+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.hyperCRYPTICalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11967085628384237933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25200961.post-88592145135812329402010-10-27T19:33:47.377+01:002010-10-27T19:33:47.377+01:00thank you Dr Grumble,
for posting this
the more ...thank you Dr Grumble, <br />for posting this <br />the more people that get to see articles like this the betterAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com