Politics Thread 5

[Lex-Man]

My friend and his girlfriend bought a flat in Croydon, last year in one of the new developments. I've been to visit a few types and the area doesn't seem bad at all now. There's some nice pubs and restaurants (though admittedly I did see a fight outside a not so nice pub at 6:30pm on a Saturday, which seemed a little early for me).

There is a massive hipster restaurant scene in Croydon. Apparently the new up and coming place in London is Catford.

[Ecno]

My friend and his girlfriend bought a flat in Croydon, last year in one of the new developments. I've been to visit a few types and the area doesn't seem bad at all now. There's some nice pubs and restaurants (though admittedly I did see a fight outside a not so nice pub at 6:30pm on a Saturday, which seemed a little early for me).

There is a massive hipster restaurant scene in Croydon. Apparently the new up and coming place in London is Catford.

Just looked at Catford on Rightmove. Already ridiculous prices.

[Alvin Flummux]

What do you expect? It was named after cats.

[Lex-Man]

It also makes Croydon look like Mayfair.

[Grumpy David]

Parking is already extortionate in the Croydon NCP car park. They need to do what Cineworld in Wandsworth Shopping Centre does and offer free parking for cinema customers.

Croydon is already too expensive too. 3 bed houses in a dumpy area like Thornton Heath were about 250k in 2013. You'd have to add on another 125k to buy the same house 5 years later.

[Snowcannon]

My friend and his girlfriend bought a flat in Croydon, last year in one of the new developments. I've been to visit a few types and the area doesn't seem bad at all now. There's some nice pubs and restaurants (though admittedly I did see a fight outside a not so nice pub at 6:30pm on a Saturday, which seemed a little early for me).

There is a massive hipster restaurant scene in Croydon. Apparently the new up and coming place in London is Catford.

Everywhere in London is ‘up-and-coming’ these days

[KK]

Javid has got May to lift the immigration cap on Doctors for the NHS. Common sense to prevail.

[Ecno]

It also makes Croydon look like Mayfair.

I only looked at developments near the station, but Catford looked pricier.

[KK]

NHS England have released a list of 35 common conditions that will no longer be treated on prescription.

The conditions chosen are short-term or minor conditions that can be treated by the patient with self-care, or over-the-counter medicines. These changes could save the NHS up to £100 million, as well as saving NHS staff time. GPs and medical staff will now direct patients to relevant over-the-counter medicines.

The following 35 conditions no longer treated on the NHS are listed below:

Acute Sore Throat
Cold Sores
Conjunctivitis
Coughs and colds and nasal congestion
Cradle Cap
Haemorrhoids
Infant Colic
Mild Cystitis
Contact Dermatitis
Dandruff
Diarrhoea (Adults)
Dry Eyes/Sore, tired eyes
Earwax
Excessive sweating
Head lice
Indigestion and Heartburn
Infrequent constipation
Infrequent Migraine
Insect bites and stings
Mild Acne
Sunburn
Mild to Moderate Hay fever
Minor burns and scalds
Minor conditions associated with pain, discomfort and/fever. (e.g. aches and sprains, headache, period pain, back pain)
Mouth ulcers
Nappy Rash
Oral Thrush
Prevention of dental caries
Ringworm/Athletes foot
Teething/Mild toothache
Threadworms
Travel Sickness
Warts and Verrucae
Probiotics
Vitamins and mineral deficiency

[Preezy]

But I always get nappy rash

[Dual]

People going to the doctors for any of that ffs

Dandruff!? Beggars belief.

[Lotus]

If you can treat a condition with an OTC medicine, or by getting a pharmacist's advice, it makes sense - a long-overdue change.

People are idiots though, so I'm sure GP appointments and A&E visits will be made for things that don't require it. I was looking at some data a while ago and in a year (think it was 2015-16) 40% of all A&E visits required no treatment.

[KK]

To get most of these drugs on prescription would also cost considerably more. The cheapest I think is £8.80. A box of painkillers off the shelf is about 40p, dandruff shampoo £3.

Medium acne also used to be able to be treated over-the-counter but the law was changed (by the EU!!) so products containing 10% Benzoyl Peroxide were banned.

[Lagamorph]

I used to have to get a prescription for Hayfever medicine but only because I suffered really badly with it and OTC stuff didn't do anything.
Fortunately it's improved in recent years so OTC stuff does the job now.

[That]

I was looking at some data a while ago and in a year (think it was 2015-16) 40% of all A&E visits required no treatment.

To be fair not all of these will be spurious. I once went to A&E because I started coughing up blood. It turns out there was literally nothing wrong with me and I didn't require any treatment (it stopped while I was there and they said I probably just managed to pop a small blood vessel somewhere) but it would have been silly to not go.

I agree people should be better-informed about their options though. NHS 111, pharmacies, etc. are underused compared to GPs and A&E.

[That]

I actually think a broader model of 'informed consent' could take a lot of strain off the NHS. There are situations where someone knows they need a course of medication and still have to wait to see an overbooked specialist, possibly several times, before they are allowed access that medication. (Sometimes they give up and end up ordering it from Mexico or whatever.) IMO all but the most dangerous medications should just require a brief chat with a pharmacist to get a script for if you're really sure it's what you need and are well-informed about the risks and what to do if it starts to go wrong.

[Preezy]

I once went to A&E because I started coughing up blood. It turns out there was literally nothing wrong with me and I didn't require any treatment

You should have told the doctors you'd been reading the Buying a House thread a few hours earlier, they'd have been able to diagnose it much quicker.

[<]:^D]

[That]

I once went to A&E because I started coughing up blood. It turns out there was literally nothing wrong with me and I didn't require any treatment

You should have told the doctors you'd been reading the Buying a House thread a few hours earlier, they'd have been able to diagnose it much quicker.

I'm glad you're having fun at my expense. As you're aware, I don't find it funny and actually consider it to be a kind of bullying.

[Lotus]

I was looking at some data a while ago and in a year (think it was 2015-16) 40% of all A&E visits required no treatment.

To be fair not all of these will be spurious. I once went to A&E because I started coughing up blood. It turns out there was literally nothing wrong with me and I didn't require any treatment (it stopped while I was there and they said I probably just managed to pop a small blood vessel somewhere) but it would have been silly to not go.

I agree people should be better-informed about their options though. NHS 111, pharmacies, etc. are underused compared to GPs and A&E.

Of course, some will be genuine concerns, and I think a percentage of the 40% I quoted was also listed as 'advice given' or something, but you wonder if that advice in some cases wouldn't be better sought elsewhere, i.e. the sources you mentioned. Don't get me started on the time/resource drain of treating drunks on Fri/Sat nights.

I got 'told off' once for going to A&E with a broken finger. There was a minor injury unit within the same city (which I was unaware of) and apparently I should've gone there instead.