stut

Heh, I think criticising the ED's handiwork is pretty much a sport for any doctor outwith the department!

HB7

I think long-term you are right, however, short term, the industry will continue to bleed and suffer, and long term, hopefully, there is a recovery - but the industry will be a fraction of what it is. If we just look at the UK, imagine another 6 months of largely impossible travel, many companies will be lucky to make it through. TUI just two days ago closed over 100 retail stores. There is only so much this industry can take.

stut

To be fair, TUI have wanted to close retail stores for years. Apart from in Germany (where they act as a general travel agent), plenty of their markets have no stores at all - the UK was quite an outlier in this respect. There has, however, been massive restructuring (and redundancies) behind the scenes, a lot of it a rapid acceleration of the merger.

KSVVZ2015

I believe there will be a move to at least "amber" travel by May 17. Green may take 1-2 months longer but I don't think travel will remain largely impossible for that long.

I also think TAs closing stores is also a sign of the time with people increasingly comfortable booking travel electronically (it has to be by far the dominant approach for those under 60). I'm not saying the industry isn't hurting. But I see store closings as a slightly different issue.

cauchy

This is all perfectly reasonable but don�t tell the practice these are your expectations!

There are reasons why many NHS staff are so opposed to privatisation - perhaps this is reflected in a deep discomfort with patients acting like consumers. Indeed there are people who celebrate that it�s socialised healthcare - so you should be happy with what the state has arranged for you, etc.

Yes, I�ve even had hospital staff suggesting I go private with the NHS consultant to beat the waiting list! They were actively promoting that his next private surgery list was a couple days away...

Outside of London a non-NHS GP is a rarity.

Silver Fox

Right, I really hate doctors/dentists that say that. And they usually STFU when I say "thanks for telling me that, I am going to court, I will have my <v. high profile medical negligence lawyer friend> contact you as a witness so you can document exactly what they did that was wrong, and I will also be speaking to the GMC too". They usually change their tune instantly. But, I really, really, hate it when they do that. Thanks for listening.

13901

On a different topic, I’m on a whatsapp chat with a group of former colleagues in BA Ops. Apparently today’s flight to MLE has more than 20 families with kids onboard. I’m the first to say that the current rules are idiotic and wholly representative of the wholly overpromoted minds that reside in the DfT and Home Office but... this is taking the p*ss.

corporate-wage-slave

Have you tried TSE's suggestion in post 2896? Just to see if you have an NHS Number already? I'm astonished at the slowness, registration can be done in 5 minutes.

KSVVZ2015

We have. No dice

We were also astonished as to what the hold up is.

If we register with another surgery, will it conflict with our pending one causing problems?

KSVVZ2015

I think we know the answer is yes for nearly all but I guess there is the possibility some are connecting from other countries.

I agree with you. I'm 100% opposed to the travel restrictions but the lack of enforcement is pretty laughable. They are presumably going to have an interesting conversation at UKBF on return, however.

VSLover

i figured this was a london/non-london thing mostly. my NHS GP which i signed up for because i'd rather go to my GP around the corner than schlep over to the shard where my private dr is based and frankly the NHS GP is great for my minor things here and there and if i need a specialty consult i can either use my private GP or the NHS GP easily provides private referral letters without blinking an eye--and mostly again to get things done more quickly.

AS FOR TRAVEL--as much as i'd love to hop on a longhaul plane as soon as allowed, i have no real interest this summer when flight schedules will continue to change regularly and covid protocols are still strong. lucklily BA have cancelled two of my 3 longhaul trips i booked...and hoping they cancel one of the legs of the remaining trip--but even if they do not, then i will be all too happy to hop on that plane for a weekend getaway to NYC in july! of course, if this jab business really does hit a bottleneck here in the UK and i wouldnt be able to get my 2nd jab until late summer, then i will have no qualms going for my jab in the california where im legall entitled at the moment.

flashware

Oops, when I had my last minute offer for the jab I ran as fast as my legs would take me, arriving huffing and puffing (after having let my exercise regime lapse somewhat compared to lockdown v2.0)

corporate-wage-slave

I can't think it would make a difference unless the doctors are best buddies with each other. The funny thing is that GP surgeries are the bit of the NHS which is privately run (mostly), they are run like law firms, usually partnerships, and have a contract with the NHS to provide services. So if they are slow to get customers on board then I would start to wonder what else they are slow with. It is probably worth a socially distanced conversation with your neighbours to find out what they are using and whether an alternative GP has a reputation for efficiency. And one obvious way to this is to find out if any neighbours have had their jabs sooner than they expected. There is one GP surgery in my patch, which I'm not going to name, which is superb at getting their patients into vaccines. It's not an affluent area, it has got its share of social problems but in a few months it will have a payoff for the people who live there since all the neighbours will be immunised. You can also have a surgery close to your work location or on travel routes.

The other option, of course, is you book an appointment for some problem that is worrying you. They can't make the booking usually, unless you are set up.

DaveS

I travelled out of LHR yesterday. I spent half an hour wandering around the departure and arrival areas so I could check on Collinson's testing location and to see if anyone cared enough to look at my prison release form. No one cared to check for anything.

DYKWIA

Indeed, it was Pfizer. I had my first jab about 4 weeks ago. Only symptom was a slightly sore upper arm for a day. My sister had hers the same day, and she couldn't move her arm the following day is was so painful!