Serious News Thread

[Polito45]

Just spent the last three days sleeping on a camp bed in a room on the pediatrics ward of a main hospital.
You gotta love nurses, and doctors and cleaners and catering staff. I don't know how they do what they do
and still be able to smile and be gentle and have a laugh.
I'd love to be able to strip the inflated salaries that politicians award themselves off them and give it all to those guys.

[Ekona]

Politicians aren't paid enough IMHO, not for the importance of the work they do.

[RB]

Politicians should do it because they care not for the money. Give them expenses only and give the rest to people who actually accomplish things.

[Ekona]

Bollocks, no-one should work under that pressure and scrutiny for free.

[RB]

Then don't do it. They aren't builders, they're in charge of the destiny of millions. If they are doing that for anything other than a passion to make the country better than they shouldn't do it.
They shouldn't be out of pocket but they shouldn't get rich off it.

[Ekona]

And you said Hyder was the naive one!

[RB]

Nothing naive about it. If you pay nothing and people still want to do it then they are clearly the right kind of people to do it. If you pay an inflated salary then you'll get people who only want to do it for that.

It's the reason why the majority of nurses in the NHS are utterly phenomenal people who do an outstanding job. They clearly aren't there for the money.

[Mr.Clark]

My problems with the politicians isn't the salary per se it's how they'll quite cheerfully do things that (for example) fuck over junior doctors while telling everyone that we've got to tighten our belts and then approve a pay rise for themselves.

Seriously. They have to know how bad that looks for them, right?

Also, they should be held more accountable for actually turning up to vote for stuff. That's literally the reason that their constituencies voted for them - for representation. So fucking represent, yo.

[Polito45]

Well I was specifically hating on our (Republic of Ireland) politicians. Britain has a population around 65 million, doesn’t it? We have around 4.5 million yet our prime minister pays himself more than yours… and has the audacity to say - he’s worth it!

Recently when asked to comment on the negative reaction to his new water tax he said - “It’s a very modest charge.” My take on it is that somebody who is on over €200,000 a year can’t morally tell people on the average industrial wage or less that any amount of money is a very modest amount.

Conditions here for doctors and nurses are deplorable. Stress is endemic with more and more people looking for treatment and fewer beds available due to ward closures. A&E seems to be completely broken. People on trolleys in corridors for days on end and waiting lists for some procedures stretching to years. And it’s been like that for several decades.

But over all that time, our politicians have given themselves massive pay rises. They talk about the “work” they do. I’m pretty sure some PR guy told them years ago that - you know sitting around on your hole and asking for this much money might start pissing people off. We should start calling it “work” a lot.

But when you spend a bit of time in a general hospital and see the real work that doctors and nurses do you’d have to think we have our priorities on where public money on salaries go arseways.

In the last election here several independents were elected on People Before Profit and Anti-Austerity principles etc. The difference between them and the career politicians who’ve been taught how to spin shite is like night and day.

[Sam]

We have around 4.5 million yet our prime minister pays himself more than yours… and has the audacity to say - he’s worth it!

I saw his house last time I was down there, isn't it next to the zoo?

All our nurses/doctors/consultants are grumpy fucks. Absolute precious cunts. I've gotten to the point now I just call them by their first name to piss them off.

But in all seriousness, I assume you were there because of your kid with the CF, how is he doing?

[Polito45]

He's grand thanks Sam. Bored shitless, but what can you do?
The nurses are great with him and I found one of the catering staff trying to give him 2 dinners at the same time the other day.

No, it's the president that lives in that mansion in the Phoenix park.
Although he's been complaining about the fucking penguins waking him up at sunrise every morning.
The Prime Minister's gaff is in Barbados... but it's a very modest place, don't you know.

[Sam]

Ah that's the one. The Prime Minister is down near the Jameson factory is he not? We had a very anti-Brit tour guide when we went.

Nurses on paeds wards are generally far better than other wards tbh.

Also, this politics shite. Swear to fuck if anyone mentions the Rising again they're getting a smack. Fuck up, we get it, get over it, cunt.

edit: The hospital I work in does it's own food. 9/10 people love it to be honest. See in the morning walking by the kitchen, oh my it smells so good. Sausages, bacon, the lot. The food served in our canteens and restaurant is the same as the hospital food.

[Polito45]

Brit bashing in the Guinness factory?? Well, it probably goes down well with the Americans - they came over here and stole all our beer the bastards! That'll be €40. Thank you, come again.

Yeah, the food they give the patients is lovely, but the food in the cafe in the main hall is less so. Plus, you get a big crusty meat pie and they give you a shitty plastic knife and fork to go with it.

[Sam]

Should clarify - tour guide being the one on the big green hop on bus not the factory tour (Guinness one is self guided)

[Ekona]

Dan, any thoughts on the new deal accepted by the BMA yesterday?