Hospital visits

[nightrider]

This last few weeks I have spent that much time visiting various hospitals they will be giving me a rent book, last week I had a blood test at my doctors, then I had an ECG test they then phoned me up saying the doc wants to see me urgently, I went there yesterday at 20 to 4 and he said get up to Fairfield hospital NOW this very minute no appointment right this minute.

So I shot up there, sent a text to my wife saying I was in the admission ward and she crapped herself, I was there for 5 hours had enough blood taken out of me to sink a boat, had X rays and various tests, tell you what, if the Tories had their way they would sell off the NHS just like they have sold everything else, fight for the NHS.

[CliveH]

Really pleased you got excellent attention Malc.

 

And as you know - I am no supporter of either of the two main parties (or Cleggy et al either) but I do believe that Primary Care within the NHS as set up by Labour under the nGMS contract in 2004/5 was a disaster.

 

GP's have ALWAYS been self employed independent contractors to the NHS. Tho' some younger GP's are now employees of these s/e GP contractors.

 

Under the nGMS contract GP's were allowed to give up Out of Hours (OOH) cover such that many areas now have to "import" Doctors from all over europe at weekends. Crazy!

 

With the nGMS contract came a huge administrative burden that was the PCT's (Primary Care Trusts) - these are the people that dictate to Doctors what they can prescribe on the basis of cost. And in the last year of the Labour Government they sanctioned a huge budget increase fo themselves whilst reducing the budget for Primary Care itself. 8-)

 

The PCT's are the admnistrators responcible for the "Post Code Lottery" whereby you get an anti-cancer drug if you live here, but not if you live there. The power to prescribe such drugs was taken away from Doctors and put in the hands of non-medically qualified administrators.

 

The changes the coalition want are basically sound but have been very badly introduced.

 

On the positive side they have got rid of the PCT's and introduced GP Commissioning Groups where GP's will have the power to select what hospitals they refer patients to.

 

The key admnistrators that were in the PCT's have beed retained BUT will now REPORT to GP's rather than the administrators dictating to GP's what they can and cannot do.

 

Most of those who protest at these changes are those who fear GP's being given the power to choose. If you work for a sloppy hospital with poor patient care, then watch out! The GP's in your area now can and will stop using you.

 

A lot of people that have seen how GP's as self employed contractors to the NHS and are therefore essentially already a privatised section of the NHS and have been so since inception in 1948, see how succesful this concept has been and seek to extend this concept of "Independent Contractors" into Secondary Care on the basis of its success in Primary Care.

 

Primary Care only started to fail significantly with the introduction of PCT's and the dogs breakfast that was nGMS. How else can you describe a system that requires a non english speaking Doctor to be flown in from Germany to provide emergency weekend cover and who then kills a patient because of his incompetance?

 

The planned changes the Coalition want to introduce were designed to give our GP's more choice as to where their patients can be referred to and to cut out the administrators overly large influence in the treatment decision process.

 

There is an awful lot of self interest wrapped up to look like a moral crusade in the "Save the NHS" campaign.

 

What needs to happen is badly run hospitals NEED to have the reality of GP's being able NOT having to use them.

 

Good Hospitals will only gain.

 

And so will we as patients.

 

What if your PCT refused drugs that could extend your life Malc?

 

Would you not like your GP to have the power to choose where you are treated and with what?

 

The system that some in the NHS would "Save" is the system that produced the Post-code lottery and poorly qualified Doctors from goodness knows where being "on-call" for patients at weekends and at night..

 

I want the good bits of NHS to be saved - and the bad bits removed. Be careful of those with a vested interest in those "bad bits" shouting louder than others.

 

Hope all is well with you Malc.

 

Best Wishes.

[maggyd]

CliveH - 2012-05-16 8:51 AM

 

Really pleased you got excellent attention Malc.

 

And as you know - I am no supporter of either of the two main parties (or Cleggy et al either) but I do believe that Primary Care within the NHS as set up by Labour under the nGMS contract in 2004/5 was a disaster.

 

GP's have ALWAYS been self employed independent contractors to the NHS. Tho' some younger GP's are now employees of these s/e GP contractors.

 

Under the nGMS contract GP's were allowed to give up Out of Hours (OOH) cover such that many areas now have to "import" Doctors from all over europe at weekends. Crazy!

 

With the nGMS contract came a huge administrative burden that was the PCT's (Primary Care Trusts) - these are the people that dictate to Doctors what they can prescribe on the basis of cost. And in the last year of the Labour Government they sanctioned a huge budget increase fo themselves whilst reducing the budget for Primary Care itself. 8-)

 

The PCT's are the admnistrators responcible for the "Post Code Lottery" whereby you get an anti-cancer drug if you live here, but not if you live there. The power to prescribe such drugs was taken away from Doctors and put in the hands of non-medically qualified administrators.

 

The changes the coalition want are basically sound but have been very badly introduced.

 

On the positive side they have got rid of the PCT's and introduced GP Commissioning Groups where GP's will have the power to select what hospitals they refer patients to.

 

The key admnistrators that were in the PCT's have beed retained BUT will now REPORT to GP's rather than the administrators dictating to GP's what they can and cannot do.

 

Most of those who protest at these changes are those who fear GP's being given the power to choose. If you work for a sloppy hospital with poor patient care, then watch out! The GP's in your area now can and will stop using you.

 

A lot of people that have seen how GP's as self employed contractors to the NHS and are therefore essentially already a privatised section of the NHS and have been so since inception in 1948, see how succesful this concept has been and seek to extend this concept of "Independent Contractors" into Secondary Care on the basis of its success in Primary Care.

 

Primary Care only started to fail significantly with the introduction of PCT's and the dogs breakfast that was nGMS. How else can you describe a system that requires a non english speaking Doctor to be flown in from Germany to provide emergency weekend cover and who then kills a patient because of his incompetance?

 

The planned changes the Coalition want to introduce were designed to give our GP's more choice as to where their patients can be referred to and to cut out the administrators overly large influence in the treatment decision process.

 

There is an awful lot of self interest wrapped up to look like a moral crusade in the "Save the NHS" campaign.

 

What needs to happen is badly run hospitals NEED to have the reality of GP's being able NOT having to use them.

 

Good Hospitals will only gain.

 

And so will we as patients.

 

What if your PCT refused drugs that could extend your life Malc?

 

Would you not like your GP to have the power to choose where you are treated and with what?

 

The system that some in the NHS would "Save" is the system that produced the Post-code lottery and poorly qualified Doctors from goodness knows where being "on-call" for patients at weekends and at night..

 

I want the good bits of NHS to be saved - and the bad bits removed. Be careful of those with a vested interest in those "bad bits" shouting louder than others.

 

Hope all is well with you Malc.

 

Best Wishes.

 

 

 

AND THERE SPEAKS A TRUE BLUE TORY >:-( BULL S***

[Guest Tracker]

maggyd - 2012-05-17 3:55 PM

 

AND THERE SPEAKS A TRUE BLUE TORY >:-( BULL S***

 

Hope things have stabilised Malcolm and so glad that you are getting such good care.

 

Sorry Maggy - as I see it - there speaks the voice of common sense.

 

The NHS is already largely privately run - has been for years - privately run by the few for their own financial and empire building aims but financed in a blur of confusion by the many in the true socialist tradition complete with brain washing propaganda.

 

All the fuss seems to be coming from those who will get knocked off the gravy train when it changes direction and all the union inspired noise and bull has nothing to do with what is best for the patient but everything to do with the fat turkeys not voting for Christmas and the unions not losing their very valuable membership income and political power and influence.

[maggyd]

I speak as I find, I have no complaints as to how things are run and the treatments we have had in the last ten years compared to my experience in the 80s when I waited 18 months in a lot of pain and discomfort while a neighbour who was able to get private treatment from the same specialist I had because her husbands firm provided her with private cover she waited exactly 14 days before she was admitted.

 

Also in the 80s this government under the leadership of MT brought in private companies to manage the cleaning/catering and lots of other things it paid accountants as managers with expense accounts that were able to dine out with friends and put it down to expenses ( I knew of one personally) that is when things started to slip.

 

Our experience in the last few years is prompt treatment ! choice of two or three clinics or hospitals ! where we could get our treatment, new surgery and short waiting times.

 

Yes the majority of Doctors are foreigners but that is the fault of the schools or College,s the education system or again Doctors leaving and going abroad for higher pay!

You speak as you find and I wont knock the British Health Authority as I happen to think its one of the best in the world. And if it is mostly privately owned which by the way I dont believe !! then we know who to blame for that dont we.

 

And as Malcolm says he is impressed with the treatment he has had and the speed that he received it, even though these werent his exact words I got the gist. Im glad you were treat promptly Malcolm.

 

 

:-D

[Guest Tracker]

Our recent experience of the NHS has been pretty good too but that does not mean it is perfect.

 

Health care is changing both in terms of needs and in cost with long stays in hospitals reducing and new wonder drugs increasing both in cost and volumes and the NHS has to adapt to future needs in spite of the desire of many to maintain the status quo.

 

As I see it failure to adapt will not only cost more but result in falling standards as time passes - but what do I know I'm not an expert - just one of the millions of tax payer / beneficiaries and as I get older I may well really need the NHS to be there for me one day - and I hope and believe that it will be - but not if it does not move with the times?

 

But then again we didn't need it when we were younger so our previous lack of experience is no help really in comparing perceptions?

 

My perception is that much too much money is still spent on officialdom and management and a greater percentage should be spent on the people that are paying for it all and who really matter - the patients.

[maggyd]

My perception is that much too much money is still spent on officialdom and management and a greater percentage should be spent on the people that are paying for it all and who really matter - the patients.

-----

 

Well I certainly agree with that, the health service cant go on as it is without either more of our tax going into the H.S for which those that can should pay more but unfortunately a lot of these people would rather pay for private care ie; through a insurance and segregate themselves in private hospitals and let those who cant afford take whats left.

 

When I was bitten by a Russian terrier on the arm when we were in Holland a couple of years ago I needed to get treatment at weekly intervals as we were travelling along the Moselle, I sat in Doctors surgeries with patients holding a card similar to the EHCI card that I had but also a 10euro note in their hand which I paid also, I wonder how many people would do that over here without complaining about the N.H.S service?

[Guest Tracker]

maggyd - 2012-05-17 7:57 PM

I sat in Doctors surgeries with patients holding a card similar to the EHCI card that I had but also a 10euro note in their hand which I paid also, I wonder how many people would do that over here without complaining about the N.H.S service?

 

It could be argued that if we each had to pay a fiver towards the cost of our GP consultation the waiting times would be considerably shorter, the resultant prescription costs somewhat lower and minor ailments like coughs and colds would more often be left alone to run their course - advice from a pharmacist sought instead??

 

Now there's a thought!

[maggyd]

Yes your right ;-) people go to the Docs for prescriptions when its would be much cheaper to buy the meds than the cost of a prescription, and it is a thought about the charge but they would be hell to pay it would be a brave m.p that brought that in.

[colin]

Some of us have experiance of foriegn owned healthcare companies that (already) work in UK, if the latest proposals increase their involvement then god help us.

[flicka]

maggyd - 2012-05-17 9:45 PM

 

Yes your right ;-) people go to the Docs for prescriptions when its would be much cheaper to buy the meds than the cost of a prescription, and it is a thought about the charge but they would be hell to pay it would be a brave m.p that brought that in.

 

So true, the cheap prescriptions help fund the expensive ones. So taking "prescription only" tags away would immediately increase NHS costs dramatically.

 

An example on TV today - one of the Statins for colesterol (?) = £16 per patient per ANNUM, so each of those patients paying prescription charges subside A N other drugs by c£86 per annum.

It is inevitable that with a single rate prescription charge, there will always be swings & roundabouts, but IMO any change would be extremely detrimental to those dependant on high cost drugs & expansion of the "post code lottery". Not in my lifetime, I hope.

[Guest Tracker]

True John - except that so few people actually pay anything at all for their prescriptions these days?

 

Over 60, under school leaving age, full time education, on benefit collectively take a big chunk of the population out of paying for owt.

 

And then there are those with multiple needs who very sensibly get a 'season ticket' to cover their prescriptions.

 

I'm not knocking any of the above but it makes a huge dent in NHS prescription income.

[nightrider]

When my doctor said get up to Fairfield hospital right now I did do and my feet never touched the floor literally, they put me in a wheel chair and that was it, I said hang on a minute I am in my working gear and big muddy boots and I need a bath, they threw me in the shower and two nurses stripped me off and then put me in bed.

Next day they shipped me off to Rochdale hospital and gave me an angiagram or whatever its called, the results were quite good, some furring of the arteries which they will treat with medication, didnt need a stent or surgery thank god, but they told me in no uncertain terms that my working days were over they told me that I had had a mild heart attack, so all in all I am a lucky guy thanks to Dr Haq my GP.

[nightrider]

It doesn't take anyone with half an eye to see that there are a lot of foreign doctors, consultants etc working in our hospitals etc, and before anyone jumps on the racist bandwagon and accuses me of racism, I would just like to ask why is this? have we not got any of our own people capable of filling these medical posts?

[maggyd]

knight of the road - 2012-05-19 1:48 PM

 

It doesn't take anyone with half an eye to see that there are a lot of foreign doctors, consultants etc working in our hospitals etc, and before anyone jumps on the racist bandwagon and accuses me of racism, I would just like to ask why is this? have we not got any of our own people capable of filling these medical posts?

 

 

Ive asked myself the same question Malcolm !! it couldnt be that they take less wages could it? or I wonder if their training cost less than it does in the U.K to go to university for 7 years! I'm sure I read or was told that is how long it takes to gain a medical degree in the U.K. Either way these foreign Doc and Specialists are very good and polite.

My O.H like you has at some time had a heart attack and has scaring to one of his main arteries but doesnt as yet need a stent he is able to manage it with meds; it was found about 3 years ago.

[colin]

knight of the road - 2012-05-19 1:48 PM

have we not got any of our own people capable of filling these medical posts?

 

In a word, NO.

Most students it seems would rather take a media studies course.

We also have a big problem with nurse's, they are educated to a much higher standard nowadays, then on first arriving on ward are peeved to find they arn't treated as doctors *-)

[nightrider]

Down in the hospital foyer there were about two dozen Irish travellers from a nearby caravan site who were visiting their grandfather, what havoc they were causing, kids running amok up and down the corridors screaming their heads off and causing all kinds of mayhem.

Their tranny pickups and 4x4's all parked up in the disabled parking bays total disregard for rules and regulations, I wont even mention how the young girls were dressed???