Vicces1 wrote:

The Imagine link is a treasure -- I had not seen that before. That guy is amazing.
Throughout history, one thing that Hungarians can agree on is that often Hungarians are their own worst enemy. This seems to be one of those times.

The current German plan is to halve Russian oil and coal imports by this summer, and severely curbing its dependence on Russian LNG by the middle of 2024. Germany just signed a deal with Qatar to lessen its dependence on Russian LNG.

It is stunning the risks being accepted and the pace of change taking place. I love your use of the term, "Mohacs moment". It seems quite apt.

Note: Before the war began on February 24, a third of Germany's oil imports, 45 percent of its coal purchases, and 55 percent of gas imports came from Russia.

Praise for Zelensky is reaching god-like levels.  It's clear the guy is deeply talented in so many ways.  Where he pulls the strength from, I do not know.  The song and the delivery by him is so very apt at that moment.   

Now that Germany has alternate supplies, they can move their reduction in dependence along faster.   Their economy would take a hit if they cut back right now but it's soon summer so there's perhaps enough time for alternate network arrangements to evolve before the next winter for household use.  Industrial gas use would be another matter.   

I was looking at the pipeline maps in Europe.  Hungary is not disconnected from the rest of the network.  It could be getting supplies from other places.   There's a very detailed technical map here (large PDF).   The entire continent is riddled with gas pipelines, particularly from Italy towards Hungary.  Superficially it seems like pipelines could push gas or oil in either direction.   Looks like the LNG capacity is very much in short supply. 

In retrospect, it seems to have been a rather large mistake to hook up with Putin.  We should all have known this in the last crisis.  Russia is going to be sidelined for many years. I cannot see anyone forgiving Russia any time soon - perhaps for generations.  Their entire country will be curtailed.   It will be a  pariah state at least until Putin dies.

I agree on the Putin / Russia mistakes. The tip of the iceberg of poor long-term planning when you also think of the ways Fidesz has screwed the country over with China as well.

As for the pipelines, Hungary screwed Ukraine out of fuel transit fees and gets most of its Russian energy through the Turkish pipeline. I remember O1G being quite cozy with another authoritarian ruler last year. Definitely, this was part of the thought process. And I can't help but think that Putin was thinking of the many ways to screw over Ukraine prior to invasion and this was one of the easy ways to starve Ukraine of money. I believe the transit fees were many tens of millions USD to Ukraine in yearly income.  See quote below, which now that I read it again, is quite ominous.

TurkStream gas deliveries to Hungary to begin late 2021
- Russia will deliver natural gas to Hungary via TurkStream in the second half of 2021, says Hungarian FM
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/energy/general … 2021/23913

The agreement was signed by Gazprom and Hungarian energy group MVM executives at the Foreign Ministry in Budapest on September 27, during a visit by the Russian company's chief Aleksei Miller.

The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine, which will lose millions in transit payments, said Hungary's supply deal was a "purely political, economically unreasonable decision" that was taken “to the detriment of Ukraine's national interests and Ukrainian-Hungarian relations.”

The Ukrainian statement said the deal would have “a significant impact on energy security of Ukraine and Europe,” and that it will ask the European Commission to assess whether the agreement respected European energy legislation.

In turn, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told a news conference that for Hungary, “energy safety is a matter of security, sovereignty, and economy rather than a political matter."

"You cannot heat homes with political statements," Szijjarto added.
https://www.rferl.org/a/hungary-russia- … 79747.html

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban said “it is important for us that gas arrives in Hungary from various directions. TurkStream is a preference for us, the sooner we can join the better. I would like this to happen as soon as possible.”
https://warsawinstitute.org/hungary-joi … -pipeline/

Vicces1 wrote:

I agree on the Putin / Russia mistakes. The tip of the iceberg of poor long-term planning when you also think of the ways Fidesz has screwed the country over with China as well.

As for the pipelines, Hungary screwed Ukraine out of fuel transit fees and gets most of its Russian energy through the Turkish pipeline. I remember O1G being quite cozy with another authoritarian ruler last year. Definitely, this was part of the thought process. And I can't help but think that Putin was thinking of the many ways to screw over Ukraine prior to invasion and this was one of the easy ways to starve Ukraine of money. I believe the transit fees were many tens of millions USD to Ukraine in yearly income.  See quote below, which now that I read it again, is quite ominous.

TurkStream gas deliveries to Hungary to begin late 2021
- Russia will deliver natural gas to Hungary via TurkStream in the second half of 2021, says Hungarian FM
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/energy/general … 2021/23913

The agreement was signed by Gazprom and Hungarian energy group MVM executives at the Foreign Ministry in Budapest on September 27, during a visit by the Russian company's chief Aleksei Miller.

The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine, which will lose millions in transit payments, said Hungary's supply deal was a "purely political, economically unreasonable decision" that was taken “to the detriment of Ukraine's national interests and Ukrainian-Hungarian relations.”

The Ukrainian statement said the deal would have “a significant impact on energy security of Ukraine and Europe,” and that it will ask the European Commission to assess whether the agreement respected European energy legislation.

In turn, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told a news conference that for Hungary, “energy safety is a matter of security, sovereignty, and economy rather than a political matter."

"You cannot heat homes with political statements," Szijjarto added.
https://www.rferl.org/a/hungary-russia- … 79747.html

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban said “it is important for us that gas arrives in Hungary from various directions. TurkStream is a preference for us, the sooner we can join the better. I would like this to happen as soon as possible.”
https://warsawinstitute.org/hungary-joi … -pipeline/

Jeez, that rot is really deep.  Maybe it's not just rot, it's a cancer.   

Apart from O1G, Szijjarto is one guy that really gets my goat.   He's the guy holidaying down on a home grown oligarch's yacht back in 2020.   

Again, O1G and his cronies are Putin's, Erdogan's and now the Xi Jinping's useful idiots.   Why Hungary  remains in the EU is hard to fathom.  If it was outside, they could act with impunity oligarch'ing  it over the proles.  But not many teeth in the EU dragon's mouth.  Maybe just a nasty suck rather than a bite.  One of the reasons why I wouldn't trust an EU army.

I saw this video from DW posted - describes issues over media access to political parties.  Despite O1G agreeing to sanction RT, he's still not removed the Fidesz controls on domestic media.  If you listen to the people in the interviews, it's pretty dire thinking.   You want to shake these people and tell them to wake up!

fluffy2560 wrote:

Jeez, that rot is really deep.  Maybe it's not just rot, it's a cancer.   

Apart from O1G, Szijjarto is one guy that really gets my goat.   He's the guy holidaying down on a home grown oligarch's yacht back in 2020.   

Again, O1G and his cronies are Putin's, Erdogan's and now the Xi Jinping's useful idiots.   Why Hungary  remains in the EU is hard to fathom.

I agree, Szajjarto is a slimeball. He is also the one caught using military helicopters to attend private/personal lunches. And then there's the stream of diarrhea he spews during interviews...

Short answer for Europe: Money. Hungary was the 2nd biggest beneficiary of Euro funds after Poland. Then there were billions in COVID relief funds -- Hungary was the largest recipient of those prior to the "Rule of Law" halting payments.
BTW - Do you remember that Hungary bought the Sputnik and Sino-vaccines, even though they were not approved by the EMA?
Also, Hungary bought respirators from China in a deal that has been described as one of the most expensive ever.

"On June 15 [2020], a few days before the government lifted the state of emergency due to the coronavirus, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó delivered a speech in the parliament and expressed the government's gratitude to everyone who had helped the fight against the virus. He not only thanked the work of healthcare workers, teachers and police forces, but also praised the government's performance. He emphasized that despite a huge international competition, Hungary had successfully procured medical devices to help protect against the virus: while in other countries there were “serious tragedies” due to lack of equipment, we “made the necessary steps” in time, and “the air-bridge between China and Hungary functioned well,” Szijjártó said. A month earlier, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán thanked China's President Xi Jinping over the phone for his country's contribution to Hungarian efforts in fighting the epidemic."

"However, according to international trade data analyzed by Direkt36, Hungary made the worst deals in the entire European Union. Since March, Hungary has been paying the highest price per kilogram for ventilators from China. During the peak of the coronavirus, in April this year, for example, Hungary paid over ten times more than Italy, and over fifty times more than Germany per kilogram of ventilators and associated equipment."

https://www.direkt36.hu/en/a-kormany-di … sz-eu-bol/

"The government spent about €850 million on more than 16,000 ventilators despite expert analyses at the time predicting that a maximum of 8,000 would be needed in the worst-case scenario.

The ventilators purchased in bulk are now stored in a warehouse in Gödöllő, a town close to Budapest, and their storage costs approximately €250,000 per month.

Since then, the executive has donated 425 ventilators worth about €22.3 million of purchases..."
- You can be damn sure it's a "Friend of O1G" charging the EU for storage... meaning a dry warehouse? 250k Euros for "space"??

Not only that, but the ventilators do not meet safety specifications:
"In the spring of 2020, at the time the transaction was made, it was already known that one type of ventilator did not meet the requirements of safe use and that its faults could even endanger patients' lives. As stated in the article of 24.hu, the Hungarian government bought Chinese ventilators from Malaysian businessman Vinod Sekhar for a total of HUF 178 billion (EUR 501 million) during the first wave of the coronavirus. The shipment of 6,258 machines arrived in Hungary via GR Technologies, a company owned by Sekhar.
The aforementioned model is the Shangrila 510S. In the UK, a 60-page report was published on the investigation into the machine. Following concerns raised in the report, the Department of Health withdrew 750 ventilators from use. According to the article of MalaysiaNow, the SH300 model also included in the Hungarian shipment was reported in Colombia for having serious issues as well. 

...it is not known exactly how much Sekhar eventually made from the Hungarian deal, but shortly after he delivered the ventilators, he bought a luxury yacht and a Bombardier BD-700-1A10 private jet.

Source: dailynewshungary.com https://dailynewshungary.com/hungarian- … dangerous/

And to bolster the claims above
As reported in mfor.hu's article, in Hungary, the majority of the 16,000 ventilators purchased during the epidemic are in storage facilities, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has started selling and giving away the surplus.

Source: dailynewshungary.com https://dailynewshungary.com/hungarian- … dangerous/

Vicces1 wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Jeez, that rot is really deep.  Maybe it's not just rot, it's a cancer.   

Apart from O1G, Szijjarto is one guy that really gets my goat.   He's the guy holidaying down on a home grown oligarch's yacht back in 2020.   

Again, O1G and his cronies are Putin's, Erdogan's and now the Xi Jinping's useful idiots.   Why Hungary  remains in the EU is hard to fathom.

I agree, Szajjarto is a slimeball. He is also the one caught using military helicopters to attend private/personal lunches. And then there's the stream of diarrhea he spews during interviews...

Short answer for Europe: Money. Hungary was the 2nd biggest beneficiary of Euro funds after Poland. Then there were billions in COVID relief funds -- Hungary was the largest recipient of those prior to the "Rule of Law" halting payments.
BTW - Do you remember that Hungary bought the Sputnik and Sino-vaccines, even though they were not approved by the EMA?
Also, Hungary bought respirators from China in a deal that has been described as one of the most expensive ever.

"On June 15 [2020], a few days before the government lifted the state of emergency due to the coronavirus, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó delivered a speech in the parliament and expressed the government's gratitude to everyone who had helped the fight against the virus. He not only thanked the work of healthcare workers, teachers and police forces, but also praised the government's performance. He emphasized that despite a huge international competition, Hungary had successfully procured medical devices to help protect against the virus: while in other countries there were “serious tragedies” due to lack of equipment, we “made the necessary steps” in time, and “the air-bridge between China and Hungary functioned well,” Szijjártó said. A month earlier, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán thanked China's President Xi Jinping over the phone for his country's contribution to Hungarian efforts in fighting the epidemic."

"However, according to international trade data analyzed by Direkt36, Hungary made the worst deals in the entire European Union. Since March, Hungary has been paying the highest price per kilogram for ventilators from China. During the peak of the coronavirus, in April this year, for example, Hungary paid over ten times more than Italy, and over fifty times more than Germany per kilogram of ventilators and associated equipment."

https://www.direkt36.hu/en/a-kormany-di … sz-eu-bol/

"The government spent about €850 million on more than 16,000 ventilators despite expert analyses at the time predicting that a maximum of 8,000 would be needed in the worst-case scenario.

The ventilators purchased in bulk are now stored in a warehouse in Gödöllő, a town close to Budapest, and their storage costs approximately €250,000 per month.

Since then, the executive has donated 425 ventilators worth about €22.3 million of purchases..."
- You can be damn sure it's a "Friend of O1G" charging the EU for storage... meaning a dry warehouse? 250k Euros for "space"??

Not only that, but the ventilators do not meet safety specifications:
"In the spring of 2020, at the time the transaction was made, it was already known that one type of ventilator did not meet the requirements of safe use and that its faults could even endanger patients' lives. As stated in the article of 24.hu, the Hungarian government bought Chinese ventilators from Malaysian businessman Vinod Sekhar for a total of HUF 178 billion (EUR 501 million) during the first wave of the coronavirus. The shipment of 6,258 machines arrived in Hungary via GR Technologies, a company owned by Sekhar.
The aforementioned model is the Shangrila 510S. In the UK, a 60-page report was published on the investigation into the machine. Following concerns raised in the report, the Department of Health withdrew 750 ventilators from use. According to the article of MalaysiaNow, the SH300 model also included in the Hungarian shipment was reported in Colombia for having serious issues as well. 

...it is not known exactly how much Sekhar eventually made from the Hungarian deal, but shortly after he delivered the ventilators, he bought a luxury yacht and a Bombardier BD-700-1A10 private jet.

Source: dailynewshungary.com https://dailynewshungary.com/hungarian- … dangerous/

And to bolster the claims above
As reported in mfor.hu's article, in Hungary, the majority of the 16,000 ventilators purchased during the epidemic are in storage facilities, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has started selling and giving away the surplus.

Source: dailynewshungary.com https://dailynewshungary.com/hungarian- … dangerous/

That is more sleaze than a banana republic.    That Chinese vaccine thing was quite ridiculous.  It didn't work enough to allow people to travel and now it all needs doing again with EMA acceptable versions.   The cronyism wasn't just restricted to here - there are major investigations needed in places like the UK where billions were spent on trash.  It's getting to the realms of  justifying a  public enquiry.

BTW, I just received another government message about the referendum.   Strange I don't get any messages from the opposition using the same database.   I'm not posting what they said because it  just BS pleading. Just beggars belief how loopy and stupid people are to would believe such loaded questions or any O1G speech. 

I'm hearing from some people entitled to vote that they intend spoil their referendum papers by ticking all the boxes.  Maybe they won't get enough votes to pass their loaded agenda.

I just received the propaganda Email myself. Disgusting.

And yet I know a certain demographic will be persuaded.  Pathetic of the campaign, and shame on the politicians who evidently have none.

I just received the propaganda Email myself. Disgusting.

And yet I know a certain demographic will be persuaded.  Pathetic of the campaign, and shame on the politicians who evidently ...

It is disgusting.  

But i find it very telling that the opposition does not have access to this mailing list.  I did hear one of the opposition candidates say he had 5 minutes on TV during the whole campaign.    It's not a free and fair election process here.  It's so Putinesque, it's grotesque.

In the link you gave about DW News, the narrator mentioned that MSZP got just 5 minutes of airtime so far this year -- that video was less than a week ago.

When your party not only controls the media, but can prosecute opposing opinions and you have no judicial independence to block this outrageous behavior and power, this is the result.

Sort of like when Putin or Lukashenko win with 95% of the vote...

In the link you gave about DW News, the narrator mentioned that MSZP got just 5 minutes of airtime so far this year -- that video was less than a week ago.

When your party not only control...

Yes, that's was what I was referring to.   Marki-Zay I think it was who said it.  I find it incredible that the system allows this silencing of any voices.   

Thing is with LU and PU is there's really no need to go through the election charade in Belarus or Russia, they can just stuff the ballots or just skip over that and rule by decree as it's an "emergency".  The referendum in Crimea  will have been a sham.  I doubt any settlement in Donbass will feature a proper referendum.   The outcome would have to be on PU's side otherwise he'd have lost all those people for nothing.

*edit:  link to Euronews article

https://www.euronews.com/2022/03/29/cla … n-campaign

Have you all noticed the changes to the website? I am not sure I like them.

Have you all noticed the changes to the website? I am not sure I like them.

...

I tend to agree,   The reply box is too small to type and cut and paste into.  I like to see the entire text I'm posting a reply to and it doesn't really work for editing an inline answer.   It means replies will be much shorter.  I cannot see how to insert a link.  Seems to be missing from the options.

There is an ongoing discussion related to the recent changes to the Forum.

All fun happening now for us

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60925016

Germany and Austria take step towards gas rationing

I hope you lot will be OK?

All fun happening now for us

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60925016

Germany and Austria take step ... - @SimCityAT

I don't think we will be OK.  We will probably have gas rationing because the EU will want to decide this is a bloc decision.   There's no way the EU countries in the EUR zone would agree to pay in RUB. 

This puts OV in a very difficult position here.  If that decision is made before the election, it may have an impact here industrially and to some extent for domestic households.   Heating needs are reducing until maybe September.   But it's not really enough time to find alternative routes and capacity.  I suppose OV will just cast the EU decisions as an attack on Hungarian sovereignty and the EU is once again the enemy.  

One thing which was very telling is the intensifying split between Poland and Hungary.  From being best mates only a short time ago, they are hardly speaking.  And Orban would have been alone talking to his shadow at  the V4 meeting.   Hungary is increasingly looking isolated.

I don't like the sound of this (might blow this way):

Sky News host Chris Smith says the capture of the Chernobyl reactor in
Ukraine has “backfired terribly” on those Russian troops “assigned to
the district,” according to a report by The Times.

“Soldiers are pulling out of the area, after suffering acute radiation
sickness, from stupidly digging trenches in contaminated soil,” he said.


“A significant trench network was fortified in what's known as the Red
Forest, a highly toxic area, adjacent to the reactor.

“Seven full busloads of Russian soldiers reportedly arrived at a
radiation hospital in Belarus this week, after weeks working in the
contaminated forest without any anti-radiation equipment.”

I don't like the sound of this (might blow this way):

Sky News host Chris Smith says the capture of the Chernobyl reactor in
Ukraine has “backfired ... - @fluffy2560

Hmm, those old radiaiton blues...

Grew up in the US where the biggest nuke accident in US histry happened in 1959.

It is not highly reported because it was a "Field Lab".

Santa Susana fiel lab operated by Rocketdyne.

Worst radiaiton levels ever, worst then 3 Mile Island.

Give them 20 odd years and many will come down with cancer. Some soner, some later...They are toast.

 

I defo do not like this new format.

Not sure where my previous post went but here goes again...

I grew up in a town where the largest nuke accident in US histroy happened.

It is not a highly report subject but U tube is full of documentaries on it.

Santa Susana Field Lab operated by Rocketdyne.

1959, because it was a field lab and experimental it wasn't reported to the public when it happened.

In fact in 1962-63 my mother worked at the lab and was never told what happened in 59.

Fast forard 10 years, they built family homes all over the land.

They never bothered to tell these new home owners that the highest radiation levels ever reproted in the US where in the ground, water ect.

Chilren playing and digging in their backyards.Families putting in swimming pools in their yards.

I know most of my old friends or someone in the family came down with cancer.

The radiation levels were higher then 3 Mile Island.

In fact Vince Neil from Motley Crue lost his daughter to cancer, he bought a house in the hills very close to the old reactor.

Those Russian soldiers stationed near Chernobyl are going to suffer the radiaiton blues and perhaps come down with cancers.

Not cool world leaders, just not cool.

I defo do not like this new format.

Not sure where my previous post went but here goes again...

I grew up in a town where the largest nuke accident in US histroy happened.

It is not a highly report subject but U tube is full ... - @Marilyn Tassy

 

it's a major stupidity on the Russian's part.  WTF were they thinking?  It's like disaster after disaster.  Lions led by donkeys.

If they dug up a load of material, they've loosened it all now so it can blow around.  The area they were digging in was called The Red Forest.  It was called Red because of the radiation absorbed by the trees made them all red.

I am sure no-one was compensated for Rocketdyne and certainly those Russian soldiers are going to be patted on the back using lead line gloves and then left to rot.

All the fun starts today for me, I start my physio, and I really hope it will sort me out. Electrotherapy and sulpha mud packs. At least I have my transport booked, I have an Ambulance booked for all sessions.

- @SimCityAT

Just waiting for my transportation home now. To early to say if it will do me any good. Only my first day. I have 3 sessions a week. Friday will be fun as I have exercises so I imagine it will be painful.

- @SimCityAT

Our eldest qualified as a physiotherapist and then decided to follow me into Logistics. I wasn't impressed tbh, but she has risen through the system and earns twice what I did.

I've made that sound a lot more than it is.  She has a diploma but has never done it since she finished the course; when she moved back here and made enquiries about how to refresh her qualification, she'd have to go back to Uni.  Today she has no regrets, except for a humongous student loan.

- @Cynic

Our eldest qualified as a physiotherapist and then decided to follow me into Logistics. I wasn't impressed tbh, but she has risen through the system and earns twice what I did.

I've made that sound a lot more than it is.  She has a diploma but has never done it since she finished the course; when she moved back here and made enquiries about how to refresh her qualification, she'd have to go back to Uni.  Today she has no regrets, except for a humongous student loan.

- @Cynic

I always thought being a physio would lead to flexible working.   Maybe even doing split shifts. I'd have thought the NHS would bend over backwards  to retain qualified physio personnel.   But that might be a bit of a stretch.

From what I hear, everyone needs a degree now - nursing and paramedics etc.   The money isn't so good I hear while in training - from what I understand, it's healthcare assistant wages in hospitals until qualified. .

My niece did an art degree and retrained as an dietician and now works in a fancy pants clinic place in London.    She couldn't get an art job so she had to move from collage back to college.

- @fluffy2560

I think had she wanted to follow it she could have, but she had moved to Holland when her exam was scheduled, so came back and did it, then returned; she needed a job and would have had to through BIG etc, plus Holland doesn't have an NHS, it's all private; it would have taken too long (I think it was 5 months until she actually got her diploma), so she fell back on Logistics.  Our youngest got her nursing degree just as Covid was at its peak; she was in a Community Team and some of the stories she told me were horrendous for somebody so young.  Mrs C doesn't think GP care will ever go back to the fantasy that people believed it was; triage medicine has been widespread in the GP sector for many years.

  Mrs C doesn't think GP care will ever go back to the fantasy that people believed it was; triage medicine has been widespread in the GP sector for many years.
- @Cynic

  Mrs C doesn't think GP care will ever go back to the fantasy that people believed it was; triage medicine has been widespread in the GP sector for many years.
- @Cynic

I'm managing some of the NHS appointments for my elderly Dad - mainly managing his diary.   It's quite difficult to get him a GP appointment and it is very inconsistent.  Some docs are grumpy and reluctant to engage.  Doesn't seem to stop the GPs constantly expanding their practice - it's constantly being rebuilt.

He's obviously an old guy, almost 98, and he's old school.  He wants to meet the Doc face to face because he's very deaf and has some mobility issues.    He needs time in a consultation, needs to see the doc's face to get visual cues and he cannot deal with technology (a mobile is too complicated). In some ways  he's slowly becoming one of the digital disenfranchised.

My feeling in dealing with the GPs is that it's a kind of factory - throughput of patients is more important than the outcome.  A GP once told me for a patient under say, 30 years, they only had 10 minutes per year budgeted for that patient.  It creeps up with age.

I must say though the NHS hospital services are generally excellent.  I take him sometimes for his appointments and they are always professional, take their time and have a good amount  of patience.   

- @fluffy2560

I wrote something long (and probably boring) about this, so cut it all out to just this; the biggest mistake the NHS made was not properly explaining all the changes they made to the system.  The NHS has changed massively from the system I knew as a kid which was basically a GP and his secretary and you could just turn up and wait; nowhere offers that anymore and it's frustrating to people such as your dad because nobody has told him that what he wants no longer exists as he knew it.  He may want face to face, unless there's something wrong with him that needs it, it ain't going to happen.

I wrote something long (and probably boring) about this, so cut it all out to just this; the biggest mistake the NHS made was not properly explaining all the changes they made to the system.  The NHS has changed massively from the system I knew as a kid which was basically a GP and his secretary and you could just turn up and wait; nowhere offers that anymore and it's frustrating to people such as your dad because nobody has told him that what he wants no longer exists as he knew it.  He may want face to face, unless there's something wrong with him that needs it, it ain't going to happen.
- @Cynic

Who cares for him? Does he have any medical needs. He seems to be a customer for Community Nursing

- @Cynic

    Who cares for him? Does he have any medical needs. He seems to be a customer for Community Nursing

    - @Cynic

    Who cares for him? Does he have any medical needs. He seems to be a customer for Community Nursing

    - @Cynic

BTW, I had cause to take my Dad in the UK to A&E on Friday and the NHS service was outstanding.   

He was triaged, had a cannula stuck in him,   x-rayed, prodded by a doctor, reviewed by specialist and sent home with appropriate treatment.  It was not busy at all and they said it was the quietest it had been in months. Total turnaround was 4h.

GP on the other hand, he tried to get in there twice. Could he get an appointment there for same day?  Nope!  Several weeks before that would be possible.  If we'd left it, it could have  killed him (he had an obvious infection). 

Looks to me like, the best course of action is to get to A&E as GPs never available.

- @fluffy2560



Please excuse me not replying, I'm finding the new quote system unusable and I'm not going to use it.

Please excuse me not replying, I'm finding the new quote system unusable and I'm not going to use it.

- @Cynic

You're telling me!  It doesn't work.  I'm typing here because there's no way to "end a quote".