GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Some 2 million public sector workers are slated to walk out Wednesday 30 November in the UK, affecting schools, hospitals, government offices and public transport, among other services. The strike is over changes to government pension plans, with workers being asked to work longer hours to earn their pensions. The government announced Tuesday it wants to bring forward to 2026 a plan to move the pension age to 67.
Early reports indicate that 75 percent of schools in Britain are affected by the strike.
Prime Minister David Cameron lashed out early Wednesday at the union, holding them responsible for taking labour action while negotiations are going on. The BBC cites General secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers Russell Hobby, that “blame for any rise in union militancy – particularly among moderate unions – belongs fairly and squarely at the government’s door: A failure to negotiate in any meaningful sense until the last minute”.
The 24-hour strike is widely expected to involve up to two million workers, with the BBC labeling it “what is set to be the biggest walkout for a generation”.
Links to other sites: Daily Mail, Guardian, the Scotsman, Telegraph
Breakdown of Swiss health care expenditure, 2008, main categories in Swiss francs: top to bottom, administration, prevention, sales of healthcare products, auxiliary services, ambulatory care, hospital care (Source: Swiss Federal Statistics Office)
Neuchatel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Switzerland spent CHF58.5 billion on health care in 2008, or CHF632 per person, figures published 9 November by the federal government show. Healthcare accounted for 10.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), a share that remains virtually unchanged, although spending itself rose by 5.9 percent and was above the 3.5 percent average increase for the previous five years. GDP also rose in 2008, by 4.4 percent.
The health spending increase puts Switzerland in third place internationally for healthcare costs as a share of GDP, after the United States, 16 percent and France, 11.2 percent. Germany and Austria have fourth and fifth places with 10.5 percent each.
The new figures were released 20 days before the deadline for Swiss residents to change their insurance company for 2011. An important change from one of the main insurers, Intras, for 2011 will affect policy holders’ pharmaceutical payments: in the past the pharmacies billed the insurance company directly, but Intras in future will insist that patients pay their bills, then ask for reimbursement. The move has prompted some discussion about the legality of the change and some pharmacies have written to regular customers to suggest they change insurance companies. A pharmacist in the Morges region told GenevaLunch, however, that Intras may be the largest but is not the first insurance company to make the change, and that there appears to be a trend to move in this direction, with large insurance groups having one of their insurance companies at a time make the change.
Comparis provides comparative health insurance pricing in the run-up to the insurance change deadline.
The Swiss spent CHF37.5m in 2008 on four main categories that account for 61 percent of overall costs: Read more…
En route to the Chuv with a broken leg
Lausanne, Swtizerland (GenevaLunch) – Vaud’s cantonal university group of hospitals, Chuv, will double its surface area by 2020, the canton announced 4 June. The cantonal development plan will be open for public consultation this autumn, but the outline of it, just released, shows Chuv scheduled to have nine new buildings and taking up 20 hectares, twice the space it currently has. Short-term plans include two new buildings, one to house a staff cafeteria and the other an outpatient oncology treatment centre. The two will cost CHF30 million.
The old development plan dates back to 1961 and no longer meets federal land planning requirements. The population whose medical needs Chuv must meet has grown from 500,000 in 1980 to 700,000 in 2010 and it is expected to reach 800,000 by 2025. The growing older population will require more hospital treatment, with 19 percent of the population in Vaud over the age of 65 by 2025.
The occupancy rate of beds was 94 percent in 2009, but close to 100 percent in some units.
Assistance from around the world is arriving in the western city of Padang, Sumatra in Indonesia as time runs out for the thousands of people believed still trapped underneath buildings and houses after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck 30 September. The official death toll exceeds 1,100 according to UN Humanitarian Affairs chief, John Holmes. Rescue efforts are underway at a school that collapsed with 60 school children inside.
Rescue efforts in this city of almost 1 million people and surrounding areas are hampered by rubble in the streets and broken communications and power lines. Dazed and stunned people wander the streets looking for loved ones. Staff at hospitals are working overtime and the city’s morgues are full. CNN, Jakarta Post, Reuters
Bern, Switzerland (Le Temps, Fre) – The bulk of a tab for CHF80 million in unpaid hospital bills will most likely be picked up by Swiss cantons.
Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland (Le Temps, Fre) – Reports that paying for a private room for non-urgent surgery reduces the waiting time before the operation is scheduled appear to be unfounded.
