Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected?

Re:Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected? by rcarr on Sunday March 12, 2023 @10:58PM (#35130400)

I don’t get why people are even bothering to call at this point, surely you’re better off calling a taxi or driving the person yourself and then just carrying them into the ER and shouting for help. They’re in the building that way and they can’t just ignore a collapsed person in the middle of a hallway

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Re:Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected? by anonporridge on Sunday March 12, 2023 @11:02PM (#35130430)

A lot of people are doing exactly that. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/20/world/europe/uk-ambulance...

But the problem isn't with the ambulances, it's with overcrowded hospitals.

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Re:Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected? by balaji1 on Monday March 13, 2023 @01:00AM (#35131300)

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35131249

I remember an article that some ambulance drivers are doing it as volunteering (they are trained). There could be a rideshare/gig-economy take on deploying more ambulances+drivers subsidized by hospitals/government: and drivers can be called in on-demand during surge - local community folks would be driving anyway.

I understand EMT are very well trained. You would want those techs to be as trained as possible. So that could be the limiting factor.

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Re:Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected? by madaxe_again on Monday March 13, 2023 @04:23AM (#35132680)

There isn’t much point in going to A&E - there are no doctors. I amputated my fingertip (halfway up the final joint, with a blunt instrument - crushed the thing off) a week ago and was told to go home and use glue and tape to close the wound, and to throw away the tip. I’ve been dunking it in meths to sterilise and dry it.

They literally did nothing. Contrast to Latvia where I bisected my thumb with an axe and they put it back together about 20 minutes later and charged me €9.

I also have a 8 week old child - zero checkups, no vaccination appointments available, no doctors appointments available. No follow ups for my wife after birth. Oh, and we had to do it all at home, as there is no space in hospital for childbirth - the beds are all full of people who should be in old people’s homes, but there are no spaces in homes for them to move to.

I am ridiculously glad to be back in Portugal as of today, and tomorrow I will take her to the village clinic, where she will finally have a medical inspection.

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Re:Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected? by kkfdkerpoe on Monday March 13, 2023 @04:52AM (#35132909)

Defunding of old people's homes (and lack of staff) seems to be a problem in my here in FInland as well. Elders who aren't in good enough condition to live alone end up just flooding ER rooms. Nurses visiting at home may be cheaper, but it's not a working solution for everyone.

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Re:Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected? by rcarr on Monday March 13, 2023 @10:57AM (#35136556)

Username checks out. You're in decent company, I believe Randolph Fiennes also self amputated his fingertip after it got frostbite on one of his expeditions.

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