How to deprive your village of a free service .

[idun]

Really, I have had times when I was unable to drive because of a medical condition, but we made sure that I got there. Heck, when we got to France, Mr Idun didn't even drive, I did, but we worked our way round getting me anywhere I needed to be.

This sounds like making excuses for Quillan, who can, I know answer for himself. This really  isn't about Quillan though, he just brought it up, it is as far, as I am concerned something that is a problem concerning the use of health funds.

The french health service is in a financial mess, mutualists getting so expensive that many can no longer afford them and yet are not 'poor' enough for the government to cover their mutualist care. And maybe hospital  transport should actually be means tested, so much is in France after all.

[Quillan]

Bravo for saving the French tax payers money but I have paid in to use these services and I intend to use them when I need (note the word need) to. Other than that it really is nothing to do with you, you don't even live here anymore. When it starts to affect your French pension then you can start criticising.

[idun]

If you didn't realise we still pay into the french system, every single month, so it isn't as if we 'just' don't live in France. We pay and in France!!!!

And

it depends on how anyone sees the world, and I am against just using

anything offered by the government, just because the government have

made it available. As I said, it isn't just about 'you and yours', but

in general. If you insist on mentioning your situation, you opened the

door for comment, that is how the board works for the rest of us, so I take it that it isn't just us plebs that have to

take negative comments?

ps I never mentioned 'french tax' at all.

edit, I have just looked at your post and there is no mention of 'need'. As this is what you said.

Another thing that I don't quite understand is why these volunteers.

Whenever Mrs 'Q' has to go to the hospital she asks the doctor to

organise a hospital car to take her. He gives her a form, she phones the

local ambulance service, they take her there and back and she gives

them the form which she signs to say that she had been. As far as I know

the state pays the ambulance car people for this, if not then it is the

mutual that pays, I am not sure which. I have used the same service

when I had my knee operate on and very good it was to. From my point of

view it was a free service i.e. it didn't cost me a cent.

[Quillan]

My wife and my health has absolutly nothing to do with you and whilst I thought of explaining why we needed to use this service I thought why should I have to justify my actions to you or anyone else. It is a service, you can't use it unless you have a good reason which we had at the time and for you to go round saying that you managed does not mean that everyone else can. I live here and I pay my money to be in the system so I use it. I wouldn't buy a washing machine just to give the person who made it a job, I buy it to use it and it is the same with public services. There is no point in paying for something you don't or won't use because of some strange moral code that you have. Likewise I wouldn't expect to use the service if I had never paid anything towards it. I think actually you are now out of touch with France and how many think, all you know is what your little French click think and what you read, what you listen to and the telly.

Oh and by the way who is payng for your use of the NHS in the UK, the British tax payer or the French? Why are you still paying tax in France when you have returned to the UK, are you tryng to pay as as little tax as possible?

[Rabbie]

[quote user="You can call me Betty"] Any attempt to issue a fixed penalty, or points, on the basis of Aggie and Edna jotting down car numbers on the back of a fag packet from the comfort of a folding chair whilst sipping tea from a flask borders on the absurd.[/quote]Hurrah!. At last we agree on something[:)]  I only quoted from you selectively because that was the answer to your question. Now that the thread has  moved on to the rights and wrongs of French healthcare transport perhaps we should let this lie in peace.

[Russethouse]

Iduns situation is no more your business than your situation is hers.

.

In any case as I said earlier Frederick is talking about the UK...

[Quillan]

[quote user="Russethouse"]Iduns situation is no more your business than your situation is hers. . In any case as I said earlier Frederick is talking about the UK...[/quote]

Well she opened the box.

[YCCMB]

[quote user="Rabbie"][quote user="You can call me Betty"] Any attempt to issue a fixed penalty, or points, on the basis of Aggie and Edna jotting down car numbers on the back of a fag packet from the comfort of a folding chair whilst sipping tea from a flask borders on the absurd.[/quote]Hurrah!. At last we agree on something[:)]  I only quoted from you selectively because that was the answer to your question. Now that the thread has  moved on to the rights and wrongs of French healthcare transport perhaps we should let this lie in peace.[/quote]

Au contraire, Rabbie, I think you have yet again taken my words and placed upon them the meaning you would like them to have. My point is that a) that almost certainly isn't what's been happening, because as i also said earlier i would bet the farm that the equipment available to these civilians is more sophisticated,and b) the police will not issue fixed penalties without evidence from a reliable and authorised source (normally a policeman). That is why only a warning has been issued....

[PaulT]

[quote user="idun"]

And no one has mentioned that these drivers may be late, through no fault of their own and may just be pushing a couple of MPH above the speed limit and still driving safely, to make sure someone can get to their very important appointment on time. As Mr or Mrs X may have requested 'just' stopping at the news agent, or chemists or worse still the post office, because it suits them and to hell with anyone else....... and then taken an age. Or there has been an accident or road works....... and then the drivers and their charges are progressively late. ***


[/quote]

So I said to the magistrate "old Mrs Smith wanted a copy of a magazine and then the water company had dug up the road so I had to speed so that Mr Brown could get to his appointment on time as the doctors are also on time"

So the magistrate said "oh those damn police, of course you can speed in those circumstances".

Yes, I think not.

Perhaps the answer is to allow enough time for unexpected circumstances - and in Iduns example stopping at newsagents would be the norm and not the exception so allow time.

[Chancer]

I could never be a moderator as I would feel that I should be moderate whenever I posted......................................

[woolybanana]

Over the years we have had little immoderate moderation but occasional moderator immoderation!!!

[idun]

[quote user="PaulT"]

[quote user="idun"]

And no one has mentioned that these drivers may be late, through no fault of their own and may just be pushing a couple of MPH above the speed limit and still driving safely, to make sure someone can get to their very important appointment on time. As Mr or Mrs X may have requested 'just' stopping at the news agent, or chemists or worse still the post office, because it suits them and to hell with anyone else....... and then taken an age. Or there has been an accident or road works....... and then the drivers and their charges are progressively late. ***

[/quote]

So I said to the magistrate "old Mrs Smith wanted a copy of a magazine and then the water company had dug up the road so I had to speed so that Mr Brown could get to his appointment on time as the doctors are also on time"

So the magistrate said "oh those damn police, of course you can speed in those circumstances".

Yes, I think not.

Perhaps the answer is to allow enough time for unexpected circumstances - and in Iduns example stopping at newsagents would be the norm and not the exception so allow time.

[/quote]

I agree entirely PaulT, but I did go onto to say that perhaps an ambulance

would 'make sure' they were not late, being equipped with

flashing blue lights and sirens...... and that is surely the difference.

And I suspect that people would not put upon ambulance drivers, but, I don't know, when seeing the truly stupid things some people call 999 for.

I'm just glad that I don't have to do the planning for such volunteer journeys.

And for the other part of the post, there seems to be an ignorance as to  how things work for people in our situation. The insinuation that we are avoiding UK tax however, is I suspect, defamatory.