Miffed with NHS
Discussion
Injured my leg a bit at Christmas time. Pulled tendon off shin leaving kneecap free to wander up and down my lower thigh. Smarted a bit.
Anyway, hozzy stuck me back together pretty quick, leaving loop of wire holding kneecap to shin.
Had another op scheduled for tomorrow as a day case to remove the wire. (snapped apparently through over use! :) )
Soooo - removed sales availability from diary, rushed round like a loony for last week making sure all outstanding stuff is sorted, changed holiday dates (tricky with wifeys job) and resigned myself to a day of extra pain and aggro tomorrow.
6pm tonight, hozzy phone up and tell my son its all off as they have no spare bed.
Well I understand all the stuff about emergencies and beds (after all I was one myself in December [an emergency, not a bed, before some pedant gets off on one]), but surely the NHS has a leeeeeetle bit of contingency built in for stuff like this.
Perhaps if they got rid of the 2:1 manager to hands on staff ratio and slotted a few beds into the ex managers offices they might be a tad more efficient.
Just a bit miffed really, 'cos having re arranged my life round the NHS they calmly just rearrange it again.
And on a side issue, WTF were they doing discussing my personal issues with a third party. They never asked who they were talking to... Data protection act and so on.
It's all Blairs fault.
Anyway, hozzy stuck me back together pretty quick, leaving loop of wire holding kneecap to shin.
Had another op scheduled for tomorrow as a day case to remove the wire. (snapped apparently through over use! :) )
Soooo - removed sales availability from diary, rushed round like a loony for last week making sure all outstanding stuff is sorted, changed holiday dates (tricky with wifeys job) and resigned myself to a day of extra pain and aggro tomorrow.
6pm tonight, hozzy phone up and tell my son its all off as they have no spare bed.
Well I understand all the stuff about emergencies and beds (after all I was one myself in December [an emergency, not a bed, before some pedant gets off on one]), but surely the NHS has a leeeeeetle bit of contingency built in for stuff like this.
Perhaps if they got rid of the 2:1 manager to hands on staff ratio and slotted a few beds into the ex managers offices they might be a tad more efficient.
Just a bit miffed really, 'cos having re arranged my life round the NHS they calmly just rearrange it again.
And on a side issue, WTF were they doing discussing my personal issues with a third party. They never asked who they were talking to... Data protection act and so on.
It's all Blairs fault.
I can tell you that it's just as frustrating for the nursing staff.
I was working on an ENT surgical ward and one day we were that full of medical outlyers (mainly elderly people waiting for care homes or rehab beds) and we had to cancel the scheduled patients.
No it's not fair and yes something needs to be done, but if they have to cancel you, there are definately no beds in the whole hospital! sooooo furstrating!
I was working on an ENT surgical ward and one day we were that full of medical outlyers (mainly elderly people waiting for care homes or rehab beds) and we had to cancel the scheduled patients.
No it's not fair and yes something needs to be done, but if they have to cancel you, there are definately no beds in the whole hospital! sooooo furstrating!
Not the Hospital's fault but bad all the same.
I nipped down to the local memorial hospital last week with my knee (well it couldn't go anywhere else could it?
)
I'd busted it on a kerb a few weeks before and thought the swelling would go down, which it did, but it still hurts like hell when kneeling, or indeed when indulging in a bit of horizontal dancing
Waited in line for about 20 minutes and went through lots of screens with the nurse, giving details of the pain, inside leg measurement, all that, and was told to sit and wait for the doc to come free.
3 hours later, finally got in to see the doc. He told me he couldn't X-Ray as the injury was over a fortnight old
and I would have to go to my GP.
Not got a problem with the waiting (there was a serious case came in while I was waiting) but why don't the staff have a bit of basic knowledge to ask how old injuries are? I mean, I wasted nearly 4 hours down there and haven't found time to get it sorted yet.
I nipped down to the local memorial hospital last week with my knee (well it couldn't go anywhere else could it?
) I'd busted it on a kerb a few weeks before and thought the swelling would go down, which it did, but it still hurts like hell when kneeling, or indeed when indulging in a bit of horizontal dancing
Waited in line for about 20 minutes and went through lots of screens with the nurse, giving details of the pain, inside leg measurement, all that, and was told to sit and wait for the doc to come free.
3 hours later, finally got in to see the doc. He told me he couldn't X-Ray as the injury was over a fortnight old
and I would have to go to my GP. Not got a problem with the waiting (there was a serious case came in while I was waiting) but why don't the staff have a bit of basic knowledge to ask how old injuries are? I mean, I wasted nearly 4 hours down there and haven't found time to get it sorted yet.
Let's get one thing clear here - we do not have a National Health Service. We have a collection of regional Health Services / Authorities.
If you are lucky enough to live in a 'rich' and/or 'good' region, even if renting a bedsit, then you will get better treatment than if you live in a poorer or worse one; even if you live in a £500k house (with the resultant higher Council Tax) in that worse area.
It's just not right.
If you are lucky enough to live in a 'rich' and/or 'good' region, even if renting a bedsit, then you will get better treatment than if you live in a poorer or worse one; even if you live in a £500k house (with the resultant higher Council Tax) in that worse area.
It's just not right.
JonRB said:
Let's get one thing clear here - we do not have a National Health Service. We have a collection of regional Health Services / Authorities.
If you are lucky enough to live in a 'rich' and/or 'good' region, even if renting a bedsit, then you will get better treatment than if you live in a poorer or worse one; even if you live in a £500k house (with the resultant higher Council Tax) in that worse area.
It's just not right.
Lois, whats your take on that? I've always just assumed that funds were split equally between areas according to need?
andygo said:
Injured my leg a bit at Christmas time. Pulled tendon off shin leaving kneecap free to wander up and down my lower thigh. Smarted a bit.
Anyway, hozzy stuck me back together pretty quick, leaving loop of wire holding kneecap to shin.
Had another op scheduled for tomorrow as a day case to remove the wire. (snapped apparently through over use!)
Soooo - removed sales availability from diary, rushed round like a loony for last week making sure all outstanding stuff is sorted, changed holiday dates (tricky with wifeys job) and resigned myself to a day of extra pain and aggro tomorrow.
6pm tonight, hozzy phone up and tell my son its all off as they have no spare bed.
Well I understand all the stuff about emergencies and beds (after all I was one myself in December [an emergency, not a bed, before some pedant gets off on one]), but surely the NHS has a leeeeeetle bit of contingency built in for stuff like this.
Perhaps if they got rid of the 2:1 manager to hands on staff ratio and slotted a few beds into the ex managers offices they might be a tad more efficient.
Just a bit miffed really, 'cos having re arranged my life round the NHS they calmly just rearrange it again.
And on a side issue, WTF were they doing discussing my personal issues with a third party. They never asked who they were talking to... Data protection act and so on.
It's all Blairs fault.
It is all Blair's fault, but it's also Thatcher and Major's fault too. What you are seeing now is that the massive increase in spending on the NHS is only beginning to slow the decline in the service caused by 18 years of neglect by the Conservatives.
Unfortunately, it's not just a case of their not being beds, but beds, nurses and doctors.
KingRichard said:
That really is something new... I'm not 'that' into politics, so most debates fly over my head.
Obviously tickled you though
Sorry. I wasn't laughing at you, more the fact that what you wrote is so ironically at odds with the reality of the situation.
As Don says, it is an absolute postcode lottery, with where you live dictating the level of service you get.
Funding, budgets, expenditure, equipment, staffing levels all vary from region to region. It is quite possible, even usual, for one region to refuse a certain type of treatment on cost grounds where another would approve it. I don't want to go into details, but I have absolute proof of this.
It isn't right, but that's how it is at the moment.
I blame the whole idea of "cost centres" and different hospitals being able to "bill" each other out of each others budgets. It was inevitable that it would lead to the current situation.
>> Edited by JonRB on Tuesday 5th July 22:57
Lets get a few things straight about NHS funding.
Each Primary Care Trust (PCT) receives funding based on 3 main factors (keeping things simple as the actual formula used is slightly more complicated). These are :-
a) Number of people living in each area
b) Age distribution (more elderly = more funding)
c) Deprivation / Morbibity / Mortality rates
The PCT then has to purchase the following services using their funding (again slightly simplified) :-
1) Primary Care (GP services)
2) Drugs (as prescribed by (i) above)
3) Secondary Care (Hospital operations)
4) Other services (e.g. Mental Health)
All PCTs have national performance monitoring standards to hit so in theory 95% of services across the country are the same.
However each PCT has some room for manoeuvre to set local priorities which is why we end up with what is usually termed postcode lotteries. To some people this goes against the spirit of the NHS whereas others regard it as a form of local democracy. Take your pick.
Sorry if this is oversimplifying things but in the 15 years I've worked in the NHS, the number of areas that fall under postcode lotteries has reduced enormously. We have only a fraction of the complaints we used to get on the issue before the national performance standards were introduced.
Each Primary Care Trust (PCT) receives funding based on 3 main factors (keeping things simple as the actual formula used is slightly more complicated). These are :-
a) Number of people living in each area
b) Age distribution (more elderly = more funding)
c) Deprivation / Morbibity / Mortality rates
The PCT then has to purchase the following services using their funding (again slightly simplified) :-
1) Primary Care (GP services)
2) Drugs (as prescribed by (i) above)
3) Secondary Care (Hospital operations)
4) Other services (e.g. Mental Health)
All PCTs have national performance monitoring standards to hit so in theory 95% of services across the country are the same.
However each PCT has some room for manoeuvre to set local priorities which is why we end up with what is usually termed postcode lotteries. To some people this goes against the spirit of the NHS whereas others regard it as a form of local democracy. Take your pick.
Sorry if this is oversimplifying things but in the 15 years I've worked in the NHS, the number of areas that fall under postcode lotteries has reduced enormously. We have only a fraction of the complaints we used to get on the issue before the national performance standards were introduced.
ulakye said:
Lets get a few things straight about NHS funding.
Each Primary Care Trust (PCT) receives funding based on 3 main factors (keeping things simple as the actual formula used is slightly more complicated). These are :-
a) Number of people living in each area
b) Age distribution (more elderly = more funding)
c) Deprivation / Morbibity / Mortality rates
The PCT then has to purchase the following services using their funding (again slightly simplified) :-
1) Primary Care (GP services)
2) Drugs (as prescribed by (i) above)
3) Secondary Care (Hospital operations)
4) Other services (e.g. Mental Health)
All PCTs have national performance monitoring standards to hit so in theory 95% of services across the country are the same.
However each PCT has some room for manoeuvre to set local priorities which is why we end up with what is usually termed postcode lotteries. To some people this goes against the spirit of the NHS whereas others regard it as a form of local democracy. Take your pick.
Sorry if this is oversimplifying things but in the 15 years I've worked in the NHS, the number of areas that fall under postcode lotteries has reduced enormously. We have only a fraction of the complaints we used to get on the issue before the national performance standards were introduced.
Top Post and very informative
ulakye said:
Lets get a few things straight about NHS funding.
Each Primary Care Trust (PCT) receives funding based on 3 main factors (keeping things simple as the actual formula used is slightly more complicated). These are :-
a) Number of people living in each area
b) Age distribution (more elderly = more funding)
c) Deprivation / Morbibity / Mortality rates
The PCT then has to purchase the following services using their funding (again slightly simplified) :-
1) Primary Care (GP services)
2) Drugs (as prescribed by (i) above)
3) Secondary Care (Hospital operations)
4) Other services (e.g. Mental Health)
All PCTs have national performance monitoring standards to hit so in theory 95% of services across the country are the same.
However each PCT has some room for manoeuvre to set local priorities which is why we end up with what is usually termed postcode lotteries. To some people this goes against the spirit of the NHS whereas others regard it as a form of local democracy. Take your pick.
Sorry if this is oversimplifying things but in the 15 years I've worked in the NHS, the number of areas that fall under postcode lotteries has reduced enormously. We have only a fraction of the complaints we used to get on the issue before the national performance standards were introduced.
So where does that leave GP fundholding ?
One of my closest friends is a GP in Southport, where I live.
He spends a lot of time in meetings and is away from the surgery on average 2 days per week.
For instance today he is in London attending a meeting, back on the train, and another nhs meeting at 7.30 pm. He's a bit miffed as he won't be able to get out on our normal Wednesday evening hit on our mountain bikes, and won't be able to make the pub until 10pm!
He spends a lot of time in meetings and is away from the surgery on average 2 days per week.
For instance today he is in London attending a meeting, back on the train, and another nhs meeting at 7.30 pm. He's a bit miffed as he won't be able to get out on our normal Wednesday evening hit on our mountain bikes, and won't be able to make the pub until 10pm!
ulakye said:
in the 15 years I've worked in the NHS, the number of areas that fall under postcode lotteries has reduced enormously. We have only a fraction of the complaints we used to get on the issue before the national performance standards were introduced.
Perhaps, but being the son of a recently-retired senior consultant who has been in the game over 35 years, and also myself being associated with someone who requires budget proposals / 'business cases' to be written in order to get funding for their treatment (and I really don't want to say anything more than that) I have a slightly different story to tell.
I'm sure that you are right in saying that the postcode lottery has been reduced for a majority of cases, however I find myself in the minority.
>> Edited by JonRB on Wednesday 6th July 10:08
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