LuLu Too

Huh. I thought this was a thread about The Lemonheads. But no. Whatever happened to Evan Dando? I used to really like him in my yoof.

Ariel Sharon - only recently realised he was still alive (technically).

Lionel Blue. Wogan is tiresome. What sort of accent is that?

Railcard from station of your choice (DH,ED,PR) to LB primarily for work commute, plus Oyster PAYG for social travel (tube/bus/DLR) may work out cheaper. Depends on your habits/needs...

I too thought it would go to Florence. An Alleyns girl apparently. But good on Speech Debelle - another South Londoner. Digable Planets - wow - that's taken me back!

No one has claimed that there are "no bad apples" employed in either the NHS or the Public Sector in general. I have certainly raised the issue of poor performance and also acknowledged that some sickness absence will be less than honest. But this is true across all sectors of employment. However for SteveT to state that there are individuals employed by the NHS who would be unemployable elsewhere is frankly insulting to the NHS/Public Sector. I am spending today interviewing candidates for a relatively high grade position. All of them will be educated to Doctorate level. I very much doubt they would be "unemployable" elsewhere. In fact they would vastly increase their earning potential by not working in the Public Sector. We are priviledged to have such people willing to devote their careers to the NHS.

Yes - I saw that. I'll only take it lying down from Gavin Esler.

Scotlands's great - apart from the midges though. I say this as a humourous, not particularly "right on" pesron who doesn't subscribe to any particular newspaper ;-) Who normally hates emoticons!

Where's Gavin Esler when we need him?

MrBen Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > And this always helps me. OMG - that was my adolescence! Swingball, deelyboppers, lace fingerless gloves. Hilarious.

I think the mirror shop "on a corner" was part of Walshes glaziers - where both White Stuff/Oliver Bonas are. I remember buying a mirror from there! Maybe Moxons was The Junction Emporium? Or Sally's Flowers? Maman JoJo Bebe (or whatever it's called) was never a library - it was a book depository. It became a S.Services building in mid 1990's.

The Adventure Bar was a Cheltenham & Gloucester Building Society in 1994. Green & Blue was a cafe called Redgewells - can't remember if that was as far back as 1994 though. Bossman was Unwins. Can't remember if Acorn or Soupdragon was an Undertakers - but one of them was. Was The Chandelier - The Junction emporium then? Franklins used to be The SE22 bar - but not sure if it was that in 1994? Pistachio was called "Days of the Raj". JoJo Maman Bebe was a Southwark Libraries book depository that became an NHS/Social Services office. GBK was Spaghetti Western. Budgens was 7/11. And the HiFi store has been there forever.

Is this why Sarah Palin resigned as Governor of Alaska? I didn't know she moonlighted as a Sex Therapist - that is her in the blue jacket? Isn't it??

I think it's time again for an actual NHS employee to interject. There is a debate to be had on the issue of NHS sickness/absence rate - I'm just not convinced that this forum is the place. There is even a wider debate to be had on Public Sector services per se - cost & efficacy thereof. But regarding the topic of this thread - 50% higher rate of "sickies" in the NHS... There seems to be to be a pervasive theme that this is due to an ingrained culture of absenteeism - if not amongst frontline clinical staff like myself and others posting on this thread, then amongst our "backroom" colleagues - those lifestyle staffers that MrBen speaks of. As I have posted previously - of course a percentage of absences will be due to less than honest reasons - the classic duvet day. But the report just doesn't reflect this as a valid reason to account for the discrepancies between Pubic & Private Sector sickness/absence rates. Presenteeism is cited as a factor in this report. Clearly this is an issue (perhaps more so?) in Private Sector workplaces. Interestingly, presenteeism appears to be more of an issue amongst clinical staff ( eg: 71% of nurses versus 45% corporate non-clinical staff). This may add weight to MrBens apparent belief of ingrained acceptance of absence amongst some NHS staff groups. However what I find incongruous then is that musculoskeletal problems account for nearly half of NHS staff absences. This would suggest to me that these ailments are mong those staff in frontline clinical work. Unless IT involves daily heavy lifting & handling? However, for me one big factor that seems to be missing from this debate (although is briefly touched on in the report) is the number of female workers employed in the NHS (and the Public Sector in general) compared to the Private Sector. This is even evidenced to me by the fact that it seems most of the NHS employees posting in this thread are, to the best of my knowledge, women. And those fighting the other corner, so to speak, are men (again to the best of my knowledge!). Around 80% of NHS employees (across all grades & posts) are female. I do not know what the percentages are for Private Sector employees, but I suspect it is signifcantly less. Female employees are likely to have higher rates of absences - often due to caring responsibilities - children, elderly or sick relatives. I think this factor should be born in mind when comparing Public & Private Sector sickness/absence rates. I could go on, but it is late and I have a full day of NHS work to face in the morning. Unless of course, I "pull a sickie"...

Because she works for the NHS.

The macho posturing in this thread is hilarious (although unintentional, I'm sure). Are you two freebasing testosterone in here whilst engaging in your online meaningless duel? May the best man win. Or may the thread be locked.

Cadburys Buttons - washed down with beer? How uncouth. A woman of any substance would surely be indulging in Prestat & Champagne. That's the type of gorgeous woman you should be seducing Andystar!

Sorry PeckhamRose - wrong film. Deborah Kerr is not in Breakfast at Tiffanys. It's Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Patricia Neal. And it's set in New York. But now I'm curious about the film that stars your Grandad! You'll have to do some research and let us know which film it is.

???? Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Well, statistically it's odd then, so either it's > > 1) PS work is more adverse to your well being > healthwise > 2) The PS attracts people who are more likely to > be sick > > or....3) It's 'skiving' Quids (sorry my Pound sign appears to be non-existent), There may be some validity to points 1 & 2. Of course some absence is due to skiving - this is true of all services, Public & Private. There is evidence that shift-working is detrimental to your health. Many NHS jobs involve working shifts & unsocial hours for years on end. This does have a negative effect on wellbeing and is probably a contributory factor to sickness absence. Does the Public Sector attract people who are more likely to be sick? Quite possibly it does. I can only really speak about the NHS & Social Services (where I have experience). People have all sorts of reasons for choosing careers in Health (and Social Care). It can be due to past experiences the individual has had in being in the receiving end of care/service delivery. Often Public Sector employers are seen to be more supportive of those employees with disabilities or special health needs. For example my Trust has specific policies of employing individuals in certain posts who have themselves suffered from mental illness. I do not think the NHS or other Public Sector services are some sort of sacred cow - beyond challenge or questioning. I do think Public Sector services are not easily comparable with Private Sector services. And I also think some things need to continue to change & develop. But this process started several years ago and is ongoing.

MrBen - I do have to pull you up over some of your more hyperbolic statements - whether your intent is meant to be deliberately provocative in a Daily Mail style or not! Whilst I do agree that, yes, we can learn from Private Sector services, I have to stongly disagree (based on my experience) that there is widespread dishonest absenteeism (as you say - skiving), within the NHS. Obviously I cannot speak for all Public Sector agencies, only those I know well (specifically health & social care). It is simply not my experience that there is the ingrained culture that you describe. There is a higher rate of sickness absence (for various reasons previously discussed), yes it should be monitored & managed better but no, there is not some 1970's heavily unionised closed shop in operation within the health service. I am a professional - I work with and manage fellow professionals. We do a professional job with the necessary commitment and work ethic that this involves. I wouldn't expect or accept anything less.

Ooooh.... Well done you!

I work in a frontline health care setting. I am a clinician but also manage a service. I have spent all of my adult life working in the NHS. In recent years I have noticed some changes in how sickness/absence & performance are managed within the NHS. Certainly monitoring is much more rigorous - return to work interviews are undertaken and documented after even only 1 days sickness or absence. This is how it should be. I can honestly say, in almost 20 years of NHS clinical work, I have never met or managed a clinician who felt that they were "owed" or somehow "institutionally obliged" to take a set number of sick days in a year (as some sort of holiday/leave entitlement as seems to have been suggested by previous posters). I do accept that there are issues around pay and performance within the NHS. Pay scales/grades for most NHS Clinicians & ancillary staff are set nationally. Thus once you are within a certain pay grade,there can be little incentive for some people to perform to the best of their ability. There are no pay bonuses to gain or lose. There is no negotiation over your individual pay within your grade. Individual excellence is not rewarded. The flipside is also that individual shortcomings are also not always addressed adequately in a way that they should be. This is something that I believe we in the NHS could learn from Private Sector colleagues. But then again, as an HR Manager pointed out to me - we do have the necessary HR/Performance/Disciplinary policies etc, but perhaps we don't implement them enough. But back to sickness rates. I have some thoughts as to why this is higher in the NHS compared to other private sector services; Essentially what Annaj said. But also ironically, we in the NHS do not usually offer any specialist fast track health services or support to our sick colleagues - I think this has been raised in the report. I am thinking of things such as Physio,Counselling,CBT. I also believe many of our working environments are quite poor. Often public sector buildings are old, poorly equipped and in less than desirable locations, with inadequate transport links (especially in relation to shift work) - all of which contributes to a more difficult working environment - and if the service is a frontline, clinical one, involving incredibly unsocial hours, difficult & demanding work, a tipping point in one's health and wellbeing can be reached. All small, incremental factors that effect sickness & absence rates. But please know, that most NHS staff , work above & beyond their call of duty, with little recognition or thanks, dealing with more difficult, distressing and in some cases tragic things, that I know I would at times struggle to even imagine if I didn't have the job I do. I think I've gone on enough for now. I don't often venture into The Drawing Room. This evening I'm glad I did.

HAL9000 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Damian Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Anyone in favour? > > I've long supported the legalisation / > decriminalisation of most illicit drugs. > > Some hallucinogenic and disassociative drugs are > extremely dangerous to the users themselves and > anyone else who happens to be in the vicinity. I > still think people should be free to experience > them though, but only under supervision in a > controlled environment. Perhaps at some sort of a > private recreational-drug resort with medical > staff on call? Hmmm - I think you've just described an NHS acute psychiatric ward, HAL9000. Sure, lets legalise & decriminalise. And put the tax revenue into mental health services.

Chris Langham.

Shu.Kurimu.Sensei Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > "Oh, what a cock you have turned out to be." > > Haven't heard any complaints from your wife lately Bizarre. Right - I'm off to make some chocolate eclairs. Or some other such choux confectionary. And maybe a nice cup of tea.