Saturday 25 February 2012

Fat future

Why are we even talking about this? The Government thinks it's a great idea and an 'innovation' to make special ambulances and resources available for drunk people. Getting specialist ambulances in for the grossly obese should be no biggie.

I've noticed the rise in larger patients among the elderly and this is quite shocking, because it indicates a generation of obesity that is about to slam into our NHS budget, causing a crisis like no other. It is already a fairly regular occurrence for crews to call in and request a bariatric vehicle for a patient they simply cannot carry, even on the newest ambulances with the wider beds. Private ambulance companies, like the one shown, are investing millions because they can see the future.... and the future is FAT.

The whole concept of spending millions of public pounds at a time when we are all being told to 'tighten our belts', is laughable and crudely paradoxical. I know that many obese patients got where they are because it is not as simple as not eating as much, but it is still due to excess that most of them are in that position. why are we paying for it? Why, in fact, are we paying to help out drunkards by giving them special vehicles and facilities too?

The bottom line is this: we haven't got the money for this nonsense. It would be cheaper to have everyone with a serious weight problem banded without fee if they reach a certain weight. Many obese people want this done because it can save their lives. However, it costs the NHS and there is a bit of moaning about that. How ironic then that we send that money (the same money that would be spent on banding) into the private sector so they can be trundled to and from hospital many times before they succumb to their disease.

I can see another future. Those binge-drinking kids that think it's so cool. A proportion of them (not all of them) will continue to drink like that and they will become alcoholics. We will see that generation filter into the NHS purse as a direct result of their ignorance within the next decade or so. Check back here in 2022 and see if I'm wrong.

Oh, and I'm not having a go at the obese; I'm having a go at our complacency to deal head-on with our problems. It's ridiculous. There are plenty of people out there who were once obese but got their act together and stopped bemoaning their condition as if it was someone else's fault. They lost weight and saved themselves. Even those who elected to get a gastric band fixed have acted to stop the rot.

So, instead of supplying indefinite funding, why don't we just educate people properly? Spend the money teaching people how to eat and drink wisely. Poor old Jamie Oliver tried to do this and got slated in the USA because they didn't like being told what to do! I expect my views on this subject will get me a similar reaction from some of you. That's a shame because I'm simply saying what everyone else is thinking.

Xf

Friday 24 February 2012

Radio Gaga

      

This is the interview from the beginning of the week. Even the Beau, who came with me (cos it was Daddy day), enjoyed himself and sat in with the DJ, although he doesn't look too impressed!

If anyone out there has software to record this as it streams, can you do it for me and send me a Wav or MP3 file of it? Thanks!

I'm still battling for the return of Mr Tonsilpus but I think I'm losing. Some people just have no soul.

I may send the original Mr Tonsilpus (the first one ever made of two) with a new passport, off to the remaining locations; Australia, New Zealand and Lebanon, if I don't get the little guy back from his last host by the end of March.

If you were a member of the old Mr Tonsilpus Facebook group, you'll need to apply for membership of his new group because FB has migrated the whole thing and now there are only two members! There were almost 300 members in the last     one. Type in 'Mr Tonsilpus' on the search bar and you should find the group.

Xf

Monday 13 February 2012

Man in pants skates for dog

Now this is just plain stupid. I'd do pretty much anything for Scruffs the cat but I don't think it would include leaving my family without a husband and father. There have been a number of recorded deaths as the result of humans putting their own lives before that of animals and it all seems poetic on the outside and, I suppose, should you successfully negotiate thin ice in your underwear and bring 'Tappy' the dog back from the brink, then you would feel proud, but very few dogs have actually drowned in these circumstances - many of them scrambled to safety by themselves... usually after the human drowned trying to get to them. Maybe the animals saw what was going on, realised that if they stayed much longer they'd end up just like the daft two-legged rescuer, and made a proper bid for freedom.... with their four able legs.

It's been very cold recently, so not only are the dog-rescuers coming to the fore, but the elderly are suffering as usual. Among those are individuals who fought in a war to entitle us to charge them exorbitant sums for the privilege of switching on the gas. I heard one old lady say she had a simple choice, 'eat or heat'. I feel a lot of shame for our society.

BBC Three Counties Radio have asked me to say a few words on the Jonathan Vernon-Smith show from about 9.45am on Monday, 20th February. Listen in if you can; I might say something pithy :-)


Be safe.