Healthcare:can the (healthcare) society be saved from collapse?

A friend introduced me to the thoughts of Jared Diamond, during a conversation at work, in particularly to a  lecture he presented titled “Why societies collapse“.

In his lecture he presented an interesting analogy describing contributory factors associated with the collapse of societies; an analogy relating society, to bacteria in a Petri dish.

As bacteria grows within the confined space of a Petri dish there comes a point where there is a balance between “resources” within the Petri dish (nutrition) and “resource consumption”.

Diamond suggests, to prevent collapse within an evolving society, a balance between resources and their consumption; as much as a balance between economic outlay and economic potential to prevent collapse.

“Mismatch between available resources and resource consumption” will bring imbalance due to continuing growth of bacteria. As society expands beyond the available resources and systems of economy available, as with the bacteria, society collapses.

Taking Diamonds bacteria analogy to macroscopic level in everyday life, brought me to the state of the health service in the United Kingdom (UK). Taking this to microscopic level (that is hospital level) one can begin to appreciate why hospitals are failing.

It is clear that boundaries have been reached when the “Petri dish” represents the confines of the hospital. Attributable to an ageing, expanding, population available resources are not keeping up with consumption nor is the required economic outlay to maintain the service provision being met by the economic potential available. Simply there are not enough people contributing enough to the pot.

Resources in this instance means service provision within the hospital.

Accident and Emergency departments failing to meet the four-hour targets set by Government, where-by “no-one should wait more than four hours in accident and emergency from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge“. Or the increase in waiting times for operations due to the availability of level two and three facilities and ward beds.

In order to address the collapse of this micro-society one has to look at resources and resource consumption in tandem with economic outlay and economic potential.

What can be done to delay, if not prevent the collapse of this society?

As the Government of the day used public funding to save the banks from collapse, the health service is employing private companies. And whether this is liked or not, there is little that can be done about it.

Some hospitals are having to utilise facilities at private hospitals because they do not have the resources available within their “Petri dish”. We are already seeing private companies investing in health services. Richard Branson’s “Virgin Care” investing in community health services: Circle Partnerships investing in “Hinchingbrooke Hospital“, are providing the economic outlay.  This investment is bringing back an equilibrium to resource availability against resource consumption.

Whether one agrees with the thought that these companies have entered the market to make a “quick buck” or not; the question do we want healthcare or not, needs to be asked. There will never be enough people contributing to the pot, so we will all have to pay more in the long run no matter how healthcare is provided.

 

 

Letter from Shawforth:social (unsocial) network

 “Man is by nature a social animal; an individual who is unsocial naturally and not accidentally is either beneath our notice or more than human. Society is something that precedes the individual. Anyone who either cannot lead the common life or is so self-sufficient as not to need to, and therefore does not partake of society, is either a beast or a god. ”
― Aristotle, Politics

Advancing technologies have created opportunities for good, evil and everything in between to be readily accessible at the push of a button; whether on mobile phone, lap-top computer or iPad.

An example of such opportunity is the “social network” –Facebook (Mark Zuckerberg) and Twitter (Jack Dorsey) — accessed by social animals, intrigued by the opportunities open to them within this new virtual society; a society void of the spoken word.

I have to admit that I joined the “common life”, with reference to the society of a social network.

I network on Twitter and Facebook.

I know more real people on Facebook; by that I mean people I have actually met in person, mainly close friends and family and some work colleagues.

My Twitter network is mainly people I have never met: conversations are around similar interests; demographically the Twitter network is more diverse.

What I have noticed about social networks, more so Twitter than Facebook, is the amount of unsolicited diatribe posted. And I am intrigued by the amount of air-time given through media-networks to, such often vile, rubbish.

As with the real world and the virtual world of the social network we populate there are those of us who comply with moral and ethical standards, and those who believe they have no need to comply with and are above such standards (cowards, often hiding behind the anonymity of a pseudonym).

As we no more wish to be exposed to this bitter and abusive writing as we wish to hear it in the street, it is the users of the networks who have a responsibility to censor. The often put forward argument that the social network providers should censor the comments is not one I agree with per se. However, in a democratic society the provider should act responsibly acting upon the requests of the majority.

So if we are to accept Aristotle’s observations, we must expect to see these “animals” and “gods” within social networks and learn to treat them with the contempt they disserve as they make the social society, unsocial.

Letter from Shawforth:pets, past and present

This post is inspired from the memories of “Cat” found on “IsobelandCats Blog“…

I never was a pet person.

Whilst my parents had pets around the house whilst I was growing up, I never had much time for them. I remember them of course: two dogs “Honey” a labrador and later “Meg” a Jack Russel; two budgerigars one named “Peter”, and one named “Paul”, I jest not, (yes one flew off but never returned); and a tortoise named “Tommy”.

It wasn’t until I settled down with my wife that attitudes changed.

Our first pet was a tortoiseshell feline who went by he name of “Lu-Lu” –where do we get these names from, I ask you — who I unashamed to admit, was cat-napped; neglected, under weight and in poor health when we took her in, and no spring chicken, about eight years old.

Not long after ”adopting” Lu-Lu, my wife talked me into buying a lop eared rabbit who she christened “Flash” as he had a white lightning ”flash” on his forehead that stood out clearly from his dark brown fur.

Now Flash was a spoilt little beggar…

In the summer months he resided in the back garden. Living in a cosy little one up one down, attached to a run that provided enough room for exercise and additional dietary supplement. In winter he came indoors.

Wait, I hear you ask “living in doors with a cat?”…

Yes sir.

Flash and Lu-Lu got on like brother and sister.

Quickly adapting to using Lu-Lu’s litter tray, we very rarely had any accidents around the house with Flash; and Lu-Lu didn’t seem to mind to sharing.

I would often come home from work to see them both sat at opposite ends of the window sill, like animal bookends, looking out at the world as it passed by.

When the central heating was on in an evening they could be both found up stairs sprawled on the landing where the hot water pipes were, the pair without a care in the world.

Lu Lu was with us until the ripe old age of fifteen. She developed liver failure and after several years of managing her on special diets we decided, after consultation with the vet, that it was cruel to keep her going. Everyday we had her, she showed her gratitude for the life we gave her. The way she purred; rubbed her self against your legs; dug her claws in you as she made herself comfortable on your lap (perhaps not that). She never has been forgotten.

Flash continued to live the life of Riley although we believe he did miss Lu-Lu when he was in the house by the way he lolled around the house. He passed away several years after Lu-Lu, from perforation of the bowel caused by something he ate.

After Lu-Lu and Flash we decided no more animals. But then the girls came along (love them to bits really), shortly followed by, yes, a pet.

Another “Honey”: a Blenheim Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, who after four years of being scragged by the kids has learnt to give as good as she gets. She has the most amazing temperament, sense of humour, and ability to be as lazy as a lazy can be. And since having her, neither my wife nor I have had any regrets reneging on the no pets policy.

So to IsobelandCat at isobelandcat@wordpress.com thanks for inspiring me to remember my pets, past and present.

Letter from Shawforth:farewell sky television

 In the not too distant future I will be moving on from the love hate relationship I have with my digital television provider.

Enough is enough!

A relationship originally born of the need to change from an analog signal, due to the “digital switch over”.

Residing in a rural community neglected by the providers of cable television; and at the time unable to access a “freeview” signal, Sky was the only means by which we could receive television programmes in the area.

I can’t tell a lie: when Sky first arrived it was great. Catching up on golden oldies such as, “Only Fools and Horses”, “One foot in the grave”; and the classics “Frost” and “Morse” to name a few was great, as terrestrial television then as now is a shambles. We never got into the sports channels and the films never appealed.

So the first six months passed by quite favorably and as the second half of that first year came into being I started to notice…

The repeats started to become repeats; not just on a few channels, and this was how it was over the next three years. In fact I worked it out, that it would be cheaper for me to buy the box sets of these programmes than to watch the repeats through Sky.

As I look for alternatives, I find myself eliminating most of Sky’s competitors on the grounds that the service they provide is no different in the long run; and just as extortionate. Something I suppose Sky ought to be grateful for. And talking to people who have one of these digital providers I am not alone in my thoughts: that they are a big con, a luxury that really most cannot afford.

So goodbye Sky, it hasn’t really been a pleasure.

Letter from Shawforth:leave our badgers alone

Staring out of the living room window this evening, I noticed one of the resident badgers meandering about without a care in the world.

I consider myself quite lucky living in a rural area of the UK. And despite the draw back of a long commute to work, or to the shops, the site of my black and white friend in this environment contributes to making it all worth while.

The badger is having rather a rough time with our government as they discuss ways in which he could be managed in order to prevent the spread of bovine tuberculosis: which cost an estimated £90 million in 2010.

I find it rather interesting that whilst there is all this concern over the spread of bovine TB through badgers and the inherent cost to farmers, there is little overt public interest in the spread of TB in humans.

“TB today still causes more adult deaths than any other single infectious disease.” Gagneux S (2012).  In fact:

Ten million new TB cases and 2 million deaths are estimated to occur each year, more than any time in history [1]. Furthermore, an estimated 2 billion people are thought to be latently infected, providing a large reservoir for active TB that will last for decades [2].  Gagneux S (2012)

Taking the above in to account, £90 million in the grand scheme of things isn’t a great deal.

Cattle are not the primary live stock in the area, it is sheep; so I guess, and hope they leave Mr Badger alone around this area.

A night time journey

We are off to the caravan tonight.

It isn’t very often I have the honour of being driven: when I am, I try and take in all the sights that would otherwise pass by me by.

Heavy rain throughout the day has left a sheen on the road surface. Car tyres throwing up vapour trails, glistening in the headlights.

As we hit a long stretch of road works, with no signs of activities, the 50 mile per hour signs are tempting to ignore. But we now have “average speed cameras” to out an end to that thought.

The green and red of the cats eyes, blinking demarcation lines. The glow of distant street lights, like fireflies in a field, flicker through the rain drops on the windscreen.

The kids are surprisingly quiet: the music a pleasant distraction from the noise of the tyres on the road. The thought of a glass of wine, once the kids are asleep, has the spirit raised.

And in that note good folk, I bid you goodnight.

Letter from Shawforth:a dichotomy through loss

Friday April 6, 2012…

“Good Friday”, when Christians the world over remember Christ’s crucifixion on Calvary; and His raising from the dead on the third day.

It wasn’t a good Friday for me, as I discovered that the brother of my very good friend had died of a cerebral haemorrhage earlier that day.

As difficult as it is to reconcile the death of anybody at any time: the loss of a parent as hard as it is, is certainly for me easier to come to terms with than the loss of a child (of any age) by a parent, or a sibling by a brother or sister, or a husband by a wife.

I had the pleasure of knowing Tim since a very early age; Tim was the younger brother of Nick, with who I started primary school with and have never lost touch since.

The untimely, unfair theft of Tim’s life has and will continue leave devastation across not only those dear to Tim remaining, his mum and dad, brother and wife, but all those who had the privilege of knowing him.

I have titled this “a dichotomy through loss” because a “dichotomy” is a separation into two divisions that differ widely from or contradict each other.

And where can these widely differing and contradictory divisions be seen if not with the loss of a friend, a brother, a husband, and a son: by way of the grief, the anger, the bewilderment, the sense of awesome loss felt; set against memories of  childhood holidays shared, silly arguments passed, marriage, achievements in life, the positive effects on the lives Tim touched, a pint shared in the pub, and in Tim’s case the lives he will touch in death through his unselfish gift of organ donation.

Tim will continue to live on through our memories and through others…

R.I.P Tim