1 week Ago
Watching squirrels play in my sunny garden and relishing that first morning hit of strong black Italian coffee, I wondered how health secretary Wes Streeting fares when he needs a GP appointment? Is he poised at 8.30am on his phone for a round of GP bingo, must he wait for a month like the one in 10 UK appointments, or is his position enough to jump the queue to get first dibs? If he needed a hip replacement, would he face the interminable wait faced by everyone else, would he get preferential treatment, or would he pay to go private and get on with his life? He has caused yet another generational war of words by suggesting elderly people should be prioritised over younger people at surgeries with younger healthier patents using pharmacists’ expertise more. I’m not sure the last time Wes was in a GP surgery waiting room, but most are full of over 65s anyway because seeking GP help is a lifelong habit.
Younger people have grown up seeking alternatives and are far better acquainted with pharmacists’ services for a quick in and out consultation and solution. So younger patients are ahead of him when he says they should be able to access different services to avoid backlogs in the most critical areas – with NHS costs continuing to spiral to the brink of bankruptcy Telling someone younger they won’t need to see the same GP every time is insulting when elderly people have been doing it for decades and expect it. Doctors’ receptionists know ‘regulars’ make appointments for chats like it is a social service, because once it was.
GPs knew patients, their family and their history. Times have changed and appointments should go to those in the greatest need. A Gen Z rep said on yesterday’s Good Morning Britain said priority should be his generation, who needed to be fit for work and be economically active citizens so should be before elderly people in the GP queue.
A younger person waiting weeks for an appointment hits the economy more than a 75-year-old who can wait. Everyone might deserve equality of care – the NHS was set up from cradle to grave – but if equality can’t be delivered because of fundamental seismic shifts in society and volume of people, radical change is desperately overdue. Everyone should benefit but sometimes it must be an economic decision.
Yes, older people have paid their taxes and National Insurance for decades, but does this qualify them for priority in the health queue over younger people who need to be getting on with their lives at work, contributing to the economy and workforce now? Should there be entitlement? It’s not about writing off the elderly. Illness in older people can take longer to develop so their need isn’t always as urgent as a younger person. Early and late appointments should be reserved for those working with day appointments for the retired and non-working.
Scrapping appointments all together and making people queue will quickly sort out who is urgent and who is not but would be chaotic. There needs to be some sort of tier system based on the severity of treatment need, which seems the fairest way. But how that is organised is a minefield.
One thing is certain – the current system isn’t working for too many people, or the medics working in the system. And I’m still interested to hear how Wes gets his appointments. Harry should pay for his protection Blaming everyone else is a nasty trait, and never worse than in an entitled wealthy person like Prince Harry.
Can he not see how moaning and complaining about his life being unfair makes him look? Saying he had been “singled out” after being stripped of round-the-clock royal protection and trying to sue the Home Office because it refused to spend out taxpayers’ money on bodyguards after he left the royal family is cringeworthy. Appealing against the High Court rejection is shameful. Is there no stopping his entitlement and wanting his cake and eating it.
His lawyer said Harry and Meghan “felt forced to step back for the role of full-time official working members of the royal family.” Forced? Constantly blaming other people speaks volumes about character. If he wanted protection, remain in the royal family.
If he wanted out, he should pay for his own protection. I warned you As a younger, woman, I was frustrated by how older people got fixated on minutiae and escalated small issues into catastrophises. Now reaching the age when peers are retiring, I’m seeing how this happens daily.
Previously sassy women capable of handling multiple crises and clashing priorities concurrently and in their stride finish work and suddenly turn mundane and everyday worries into mountains. Research shows the two times of life that affect women most are at 40 and 60. Friendships trends follow the same pattern.
Friends can drift apart when they have children or don’t. Life’s priorities and focuses change and spending time together can be like aliens struggling to communicate because their lives are so different. Turning 60 is much the same.
Some women retire and others continue full pelt. It’s hard to find common ground, empathy and understanding when life’s speed and priorities change, perspectives shift and they don’t have enough to think about or occupy themselves. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
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