Local councils recently took over responsibility for public health, including initiatives to cut smoking and drinking and lower obesity rates, from the NHS.
They are now under pressure to improve in order to achieve Government targets of saving 30,000 lives a year by 2020.Yes, all the councils will now be under pressure to send you more glossy leaflets and come up with idiotic schemes in a desperate attempt to hit these targets while avoiding the actual things we pay council tax for.
Ain't life grand?
10 comments:
All I really get for my council tax is the bins being emptied once a fortnight, and they even fail on that score roughly one time in three.
Public health - don't leave overflowing bins for four/six weeks at a time, it encourages rats and disease.
Also, the more crappy leaflets you send me, the quicker the buggers overflow.
Unbelievable! I just want my council to look after the roads and collect my rubbish, WTF are they doing with HEALTH - isn't that what the NHS is for. What a waste of fucking money
Out of curiosity, how do they define 'a life saved'? And how would you measure this? After all if they have set targets on this surely they must have some means of defining and collecting said data.
I wonder if they keep data on the number of pot holes they fill in only for them to return a week later because it was so badly done...
I demand a 'comprehensive obesity service' - now!
Whatever next, I often wonder? I can quite honestly say I'm glad to be on the way out rather than on the way in.
"... to achieve Government targets of saving 30,000 lives a year by 2020"
So, 4500 lives a year.
A worthy goal for sure but at what cost to the rest of us? The worry I have, and I'm sorry to be blunt, but how many of these saved people will go on to lead productive lives? Is it not just as likely that many will need further support and continue to draw upon resources for even longer?
Meanwhile, those footing the bills are cancelling their gym memberships, giving up sports, eating less healthily, switching off the heating and turning their hands to risky behaviours like fixing their own roofs/electrics/gas in an attempt to make ends meet?
On the face of it, I'd say this is a zero sum game with all the overheads.
Saves on the cost of firelighters for my wood-burner.
"30,000 lives a year by 2020"
Ooops! Misread that first time around.
But yes, as someone above asked, how do you quantify a life saved? Or measure those lost through impoverishment due to ever increasing taxes.
Decades of 'in between years' interrupt admiration for the work done by local and central government.
If local councils are responsible for Public Health then who's this lot ?
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/public-health-england
"Also, the more crappy leaflets you send me, the quicker the buggers overflow."
Luckily, our recycling bin is twice the size of the others! It's almost like they know...
"WTF are they doing with HEALTH - isn't that what the NHS is for."
Well, indeed!
"Out of curiosity, how do they define 'a life saved'?"
And, as John Pickworth points out, what's the point in saving them?
"If local councils are responsible for Public Health then who's this lot ?"
It is, indeed, a zero-sum game... :/
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