buctootim

Yep thats true. You also have a relatively small number of people who repeat dial ambulances and GPs. I forget the stat but one county ambulance service reported something like 15% of their capacity was taken up by a group of 20 people who called an ambulance almost every day. Not sure how you deal with abuse

Meh. Thats noble but a tad simplistic. The perception that we could fund all real need if only we stopped fertility treatment and gender reassignment is not remotely near the truth. The unavoidable fact is that people are living ever longer but not remaining healthy longer. More old people need more treatment. Unless you decide to do something radical - like only offer palliative treatment to the over 75s or over 80s then demand / need will continue to exceed capacity.

This, plus the fact the NHS has slipped down the priority list somewhat and now receives a slightly lower share of GDP than before. At core though is the basic fact that every year what is possible increases. The more times you save someones life the more times they are around to get sick again.

BBC says its to be staffed by NHS with logistical support from Army, presumably moving patients around

...

Never went, but it seemed to be fun

Yep - Importers. Would do a roaring trade now

Oppenheimer?

Exactly that. Appearances in front of the community and acceptance is what counts

Yeah its interesting - what is commonly seen as religious is actually more cultural. My gf is 3rd generation UK born Pakistani Christian origin. Parents, grandparents and even local community still have many of the behaviour expectations you'd expect from muslim background.

Is your wife a practising muslim, or simply from a muslim background and doesnt believe/ hates it? No agenda, just interested.

Exactly. Anyway in wartime people weren't told to stay home and pubs, cinemas and dance halls remained open

Read an interesting article by the founder of Leon (who are moving to home meals). He reckons half of all meals are normally taken at school or work and because of the collapse in that trade demand on supermarkets has moved from 50% of capacity to 130% of capacity in two weeks. Panic buying is only part of it.

Depends whether you get Geri or Posh

Sounds about normal for Denmark tbf

The NHS doesnt really have any spare capacity, its assets are used close to 100% all the time. Thats great for efficiency but when you get a surge in need like this, its where the leaness / bare bones becomes apparent. Its not uncommon even in normal usage for critically ill patients to be transferred 100 miles or more in search of an available CCU bed.

Presumably you are referring to the US CDC report? CDC reported 80% of deaths were in the over 65 age group despite accounting for only 31% of cases and 19% of the population. Only 20% of deaths were in the 0-64 age group, and although the CDC report doesnt state this, the large majority of the younger deaths will likely have been in people with underlying health conditions, as has been found in China, Italy and elsewhere. For example the youngest death in the UK was a guy aged 39. He had motor neurone disease and had been given a life expectancy of two years back in June 2018 before coronavirus Most importantly far fewer of the younger people requiring hospital treatment needed intubation. And that is where the capacity crunch is

Still not grasping the issue. No country is self sufficient in healthcare products. The UK exports specialised products for specific conditions and imports others for different conditions. Drugs which might be helpful to the treatment of COVID 19 are made in Japan, Germany, Switzerland and others. Parts essential for ventilator manufacture are sourced across the world. Crashing out of the transition period before common standards are agreed would not just be stupid but potentially homicidal.

There are ways around that. Those likely to get seriously sick and needing hospital treatment is predictable - because declining lung and immunity function is closely correlated with age and conditions like diabetes and taking immuno-suppressants. You could phase it and offer things like a 'passport' which grants freedom to move and work to those who test positive for antibodies - ie those who have been exposed and recovered.

How the **** does the US have 160,000 ventilators, Germany 25,000 and the UK 5,000? https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/business/coronavirus-ventilator-shortage.html

Don't do it John. The problems will blow over eventually and your family will miss you.

It's moot. The idea is that you isolate the vulnerable and infect those people who are likely to develop no or only very mild symptoms - which is around 85% of those who get infected - mostly the healthy under 60s.

Norway is in a very different situation to the UK though because of its sovereign wealth fund. Norway has around £180,000 saved up for every man woman and child. By contrast the UK already owes around £30,000 per person and is about to load another huge dollop on top. Agree long term the move away from from oil will be a problem, but gas will continue to be important for another 20 years or so.

That would be worrying if it were true, but it isnt so I'm fine with it. The pharmaceuticals and medical equipment sector accounts for around 240,000 mostly highly paid jobs in the UK and about 10% of exports, half of which go to the EU. EU imports are around 8%. Unlike cars or TVs or phones there are often no alternative brands or generic to key drugs. Without agreed common standards in place trade grinds to a halt.

Nah. We're an independent nation with a proud history of standing alone dontchaknow. We'd rather starve and die from lack of medical equipment.