Do You Want Universal Healthcare?

RN1982 · Jul 30, 2008

For the record, FMLA provides at least 12 weeks of unpaid leave time for eligible employees. Some employers, mine included, allow more. I had 6 months that I was able to take off because I planned and saved to do so.
Why should the taxpayers pay someone's salary (or a significant portion of it) for a full year for maternity leave? Having a baby is a personal decision that a couple should plan and prepare for without expecting financial support from their neighbors.
I find it ironic that many people who decry America's lack of lengthy paid maternity leave also balk at welfare mothers being supported by taxpayers. What's the difference?
Vacation time is an earned benefit that virtually all full-time employees receive. Paid maternity leave benefits only a small, select group of employees, yet would cost a fortune. Why should a small segment of the working population be guaranteed a costly benefit (for an elective condition) that the others don't receive?

For the record, I was only guessing how many weeks are provided for FMLA. I misunderstood how maternity leave is given over in europe. I'm so sorry to have offended you.

missjennmb · Jul 30, 2008

I totally agree!

tbh though military medical is SO messed up. Not because its "uvh" but because they think they are in control and you are not, and therefor act accordingly. Its the only place in this country where its legal to "force" someone to accept a treatment based on rank. With that mentality over the whole system of course its going to be screwed up in other ways.

Mimmm · Jul 30, 2008

I don't understand why your friend would wait for 2 years for surgery the waiting time targets under the NHS means that waits of this length should no longer happen, I know working through our waiting lists that we are heavily penalised if we fail to achieve the 18 week targets so I can only asssume there is another reason for the delay. If she has been listed for surgery 2 years ago then under the NHS she would have recieved the surgery unless there is something else within her medical history that needs treating prior to surgery.

I was curious....How are you heavily penalized?? If the government is paying for the healthcare and determining how it is run, does the government pay a fine to itself when it is penalized? Just wondering how a government run program holds itself accountable. Paying a fine to itself does not seem like such a bad penalty. Maybe it is done differently, would appreciate a reply to this.

loriangel14, RN · Jul 30, 2008

In Canada you get 12 months paid leave and the employer has to give you back your job at the end.I had an employer try to tell me at the end of my first mat leave that he was not letting me come back but I called the Ministry of Labour and they straightened that out with them.

Turd.Ferguson · Jul 30, 2008

Ministry of Labour

Hahaha. That sounds like "1984".

Jolie, BSN · Jul 30, 2008

For the record, I was only guessing how many weeks are provided for FMLA. I misunderstood how maternity leave is given over in europe. I'm so sorry to have offended you.

Not offended. Just trying to provide accurate information which is needed for an honest debate.

RN1982 · Jul 30, 2008

Hahaha. That sounds like "1984".

Is that the book about the world cominig to an end?

Atheos · Jul 30, 2008

Is that the book about the world cominig to an end?

Nah it's about the United States Government controlling your entire life and watching and listening to everything you do...

OOPS I meant to put 'a generic government' instead of US government. Sometimes I get real life confused with fiction!

allnurses Guide · Jul 30, 2008

Nah it's about the United States Government controlling your entire life and watching and listening to everything you do...

Yeah, like making it against the law for restaurants to use trans fats and that includes banning movie theaters from using coconut oil for popcorn and attempting to put through legislation that would enable the government to control the thermostat in your home (fortunately that failed) and not allowing forest fuel reduction so that we won't have such a terrible fire season and then not allowing anyone to log the burned forests and replant and I could go on and on . . . . .

steph

allnurses Guide · Jul 30, 2008

I was curious....How are you heavily penalized?? If the government is paying for the healthcare and determining how it is run, does the government pay a fine to itself when it is penalized? Just wondering how a government run program holds itself accountable. Paying a fine to itself does not seem like such a bad penalty. Maybe it is done differently, would appreciate a reply to this.

Even though it is government run each healthcare trust is responsible for it's own budget and we are very accountible to the public which is enforced by public groups. With this accountablity comes the appropriate budget and the responsibility for that.

There are some fines and finacial penalties for non complience which if you are managing on a limited budget anyway can mean huge difficulties.

Throughout the year as managers we are expected to project and predict what resources we will need to be compliant, they have to be realistic and they are questioned. Failure to achieve the targets due to poor predictions means that your capability as a manager is questioned, and with this there is the risk that you will be removed from that position. So there is a big element of personal responsibility.

There are also patient groups that visit and validate the work that we do to make sure that as managers we are not fiddling the figures to achieve the targets.

I know that recently in a facility close to where I work there was a bit of creative waitling list managment going on, false reasons for deferal or removal that kind of stuff but through the validation this was discovered and that manager is now no longer working within the facility.

Also, even though we are a government funded organisation the accountibility to the public is huge, there is the patients charter and patient groups who visit hospitals and then feed back back to the trust board, this information is listened to closely. Our patients have very high expectations of NHS treatment and know what they are entitled to, so our patients are a big part of the process in the care provision.

For example, there is a hospital I have worked in that wanted to transfer a surgical ward over to a medical speciality to make better utilisation of the beds. This had to go to patient group consultation and the managers had to present thier case why and prove that it would not mean increased waiting lists. Without this consulation the move would not have happened.

It is not a perfect system and there are aspects of it that I find very frustrating but a good NHS manager knows how to use these patient groups to the benefit of their department. We have done this recently, inviting them to visit a ward area which needed some refurbishment and it worked the recommendations that were made to the board freed the cash to make the improvements.

tanthalas · Jul 30, 2008

To the individuals saying that "UHC = more government control" need to use their ability to vote and elect a party you can trust.

Our Canadian government is corrupt and idiotic at times, but if they attempt to pull a major change on our health care system we fight them tooth and nail.

http://www.bcnu.org/whats_new_media/news_releases/2008/bcfed07-24.htm

allnurses Guide · Jul 30, 2008

I'd actually like to add to the post above as well, at no time do I feel that the government dicatates what happens in healthcare, they provide the budget but the policies are written by clinicians and patient groups, both nationally and locally.

Clinical decisions are not put to non clinicians it is the medics who decide what treatments are appropriate. Even things like the NICE guidelines (National Institute of Clinical Excellence) this approves new treatments etc, they are decided by clinicians and not administrators.