Prime Time Public healthcare Vs Private.

Just a note on something I watched during the week, Primetime Investigates Public Vs Private, the battle for care. It was not the usual run from Rte and looks like they put some effort into investigating and making their documentary. They focused on how the big waiting list in the public systems are made worst by the consultants “moonlighting”  for the private sector as well, often at the expense of their public patients. Seemingly the consultants who are suppose to work 4 days- 37 to 39 hours, work as little as 13 hours in the public system and often too busy with their private practices to look after public patients despite being paid to do so. Public patients are often told to “go private” to beat the long ques that exist despite the taxpayer paying for the doctor’s salaries. the junior doctors, nurses and other staff plus the equipment and the premises as well. The first question patients are asked is do they have private health insurance which is paying on the double or maybe on the triple.

The public gets bad value for money, patients are often stressed by long waiting lists and the hospitals are ran badly by inept management, who pays people for a job they are not doing- no-one except the Irish health service the only ones who can do it. A book I read a few years ago “The bitter Pill” was written anonymously “Doctor X”  by a foreign doctor on the Irish health service was scathing on how it was run and said one of the biggest problems was a private sector which was “leaching” off the public sector, which wouldn’t be profitable if it didn’t. Another comment was the sending of patients off for private scans when the cheapest thing to do, was to buy the bloody scanner. The writer had a long list of improvements at the back of his book which is well worth a read. In a few years things will come to a crunch in the Public Vs Private systems.

Successive Irish governments had done their best to run down the public health care system and foist an “American style healthcare” system onto the Irish public. The public healthcare system can’t be seen to work as then they would no need to go private. No big money for anyone especially the politicians who get big backhanders from healthcare companies.

A better run public system is badly needed and wanted by the Irish public but seemingly government’s with different Agenda’s are the main problem to the “fix”. Until this changes the mess will continue.

 

links of interest:

Prime Time: Public V Private – The Battle for Care

Armed Gardaí to be deployed to Rathkeale.

In the news of late is Rathkeale, not for good news apparently. Armed police are to be deployed to this small town in the run up/during and after Christmas period. Large numbers of “travellers” come to the town each Christmas and its become quite rowdy time for Rathkeale. Haven’t heard of a lot of trouble happening but the deployment of armed police at Christmas time is becoming a regular event.

These visitors constantly drive up and down the town in swoosh cars which are actually rented for the Christmas period. They are annoying and cause traffic jams, feral children are also a problem. Don’t see why they all come to Rathkeale as they are living their lives elsewhere. Some business in town do well from the influx of “Visitors” but they give a bad image of Rathkeale and many houses are boarded up for the rest of the year.

Rathkeale becomes half a Ghost town. The “Traveller” community is over represented in Rathkeale and more should be done to encourage people to live there and more business/employment attracted to the town.

Gerry Adams steps down as Leader of Sinn fein.

On the news at nine o’ clock is the announcement that Gerry Adams is to step down as leader of Sinn fein. Gerry Adams has held the position since 1983 which is over thirty four years, quite a achievement in a modern political party.

Gerry Adams has led a chequered career in Sinn fein, he ended the “armed struggle” alongside Martin McGuinness who died earlier this year and signed up for the controversial Good friday agreement. He has built up a political organisation with seats at the Dáil, Westminster and Stormont assemblies. The party has become a lot more numerous than during the “armed struggle” as seen during their ard fheis in Dublin. However the movement he leads tends to take one step forward followed by two steps backward. He put in a highly suspicious performance during the 2007 Dáil elections. letting Micheal McDowell land some punches on him about Farc and the sum of twenty five million allegedly obtained from them despite knowing that some PD’s were “ansbachers”. Nobody asked him to explain his showing and he largely lost the election for Sinn fein. Some form of blackmail seemed to have been used. Adams led/leads a movement that is chock full of informers, touts and spies. One wonders what the future holds for Sinn fein and will they get their referendum on Irish unity in the years to come, everybody needs to play for team Ireland to win that one.

History will write on Gerry Adams and his legacy in the fullness of time.

Ireland (ROI) Soccer team disappoints.

Just taking note of Tuesday nights match between Ireland and Denmark (Ireland lost 5-1). Only saw the second half of the match but it was a very disappointing performance from the Republic’s soccer team, they seemed rudderless without a sense of direction and gave away easy goals to Denmark. They held in Copenhagen but why did they go to bits in Dublin ? It was a shocking performance to put on for a home crowd, who were expecting to be booking places for Russia next summer some hope of that now. It looked like the soccer squad hadn’t did their homework and it showed. They had a easy group to qualify from and made a mess of it and left it all to the very end to do. Don’t think one should expect a lot from this soccer squad in the future.