NHS worse than farmers for moaning........

[Pieces_of_Eight]

Lots of different issues here.

Firstly, people in the UK take the NHS, A&E, GPs etc for granted as there is no cost at the point of use. If people using the NHS actually saw the bill for their treatment, they would think twice about the cost to the taxpayer. I wonder what private health insurance costs in countries like the USA? Do people take better care of themselves?

Secondly, if the NHS was a company, it would be bankrupt, liquidated and wound up. The level of waste and inefficiency is simply mind blowing. This is only possible because there is no competition and the government of the day just keeps pouring more and more money down the black hole.

Thirdly, what proportion of NHS patients are non-UK taxpayers, who have not contributed to the NHS' finances? Should they be getting free treatment, paid for by the rest of us?


I last went to A&E about a month ago, to a large hospital in a city, with my wife who had fallen from a horse. We were booked in with an appointment, and were early for it. We were actually seen 40 minutes later than our appointment.

The A&E wasn't particularly busy, but the waiting time was 3 hours (it was a Sunday morning). God only knows what would have happened in the event of a major incident involving many casualties (train/bus crash etc), there were just not the resources available to deal with the flow of patients coming in.

Please don't get me wrong, I've had ten times more than my fair share of excellent treatment through the NHS over the years, it just pains me to see it getting abused and mis-managed.

 

[cvx175]

doubt the way we farm has anything to do with how many McDonalds, Energy drinks, Pizza and chocolate a lot of people are eating!

My mother was in A&E the other day, and a woman had brought her kid in to see a doctor as she was worried she'd cut the kids finger nails too short!!

I booked an emergency appointment with my GP the other day as my son's big toe was nearly twice the size and dark purple. Got a 4pm appointment so picked him up from school, straight to clinic, took his shoe and sock off.....nothing wrong, no swelling, no colour change! Felt like a right plum.

This is probably the biggest problem with the nhs, pointless appointments all cost money and tie up staff. Even worse people calling ambulances for minor problems (not accusing you by the way @Grain Buyer just using your post as am example)

 

[Pieces_of_Eight]

I've said it before, they are looking down the wrong end of the gun re NHS funding. They spend £20 billion a year treating obesity and diabetes, diseases closely linked with nutrition. The nutrient density of our food is a fraction of what it was 50 years ago. Our soils are depleted. So take some of the £20 billion and subsidise food produced by traditional farming methods, bringing livestock back on farms. Healthy soils, healthy plants, healthy people, something that has been forgotten.

Consumers don't want to spend their money on ingredients or spend their time cooking from scratch. The youth of today do not have the skills anyway.

Consumers want choice and convenience. How much market share is taken up by fast food and ready meals?

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

good god, we have a small group of farmers here, and they think they can run the NHS better than anybody else, all knowing everyone else's business better than there own, yet some struggle to run there own business

 

[Pieces_of_Eight]

How many non-farmers think they can run the subs/CAP system better?

For those that think subs encourages inefficiency in Agriculture (tin hat on), bottomless funding has surely encouraged inefficiencies within the NHS.

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

How many non-farmers think they can run the subs/CAP system better?

For those that think subs encourages inefficiency in Agriculture (tin hat on), bottomless funding has surely encouraged inefficiencies within the NHS.

there is alot that are inefficient and standing in the way of good farmers

 

[Grassman]

I think there is a bit of over simplification of the NHS here. It's extremely complex. To get a patient out of hospital there has to be somewhere to go and people to look after them. These services are being cut to save costs but in doing that they create extra costs for the hospitals as they then have more people to cope with.
We live longer and need more care to do that. So it's a self perpetuating problem.
I'm sure if there was a magic wand cure for the problems they would do them.

 

[dstudent]

I ve worked within the NHS for 10 years different hospitals , different roles, I agree with many of the issues discussed here. It enrages me when I see people coming in via ambulance because of a tummy ache or a slight fever or they d wash their hair and did not want to take the bus.I had a woman living just right next to the hospital calling the ambulance, and yes guess what? Some abdo pain, she was walking fine though. There is this general idea with some people that if they come in via ambulance, they can by pass the waiting. It costs £ 900 each call out, and it takes the van out of circulation for more than an hour. then we have real emergency cases waiting ages for an ambulance, and with strokes or heart attacks time is of the essence.
One thing I would like to see is charges for ambulance use, aside for specific groups (elderly, disabled, life threatening and serious cases) the ambulance is not a taxi service.
We are struggling with budget cuts, with hospitals and community services closures or reductions, beds cuts, staff reductions. In my ward we ve taken over patients from 2 other hospitals, we have more patients but the same number of beds and staff. Waste of resources, example: the extra costs of agency staff, there is a big industry around agency/bank work, where for a couple of shifts a midwife or nurse can make a up to £ 1600, for doctors double that. Why would you take a permanent job if you can make twice as much and work less working as agency?
I ve 6 managers I don t know who they are or what they do, they always seam to go for meetings.
Having said that, recently good steps have been taken, electronic records keeping, using Ipads, will get rid of paper, which will hopefully save in storing millions of patients medical records. The matrons are back, some reduction of agency staff, centralized purchasing. I love the NHS I don t want to see a privatized service, it cannot be a money making machine for pharmaceutical companies, who are making millions, peddling old medications at expensive prices ( don t get me started on the flu vacvine scam) Most of our non clinical services have been contracted out to big corporations Capita Medirest, Sodexo.
So yes it might look like we moan a lot, but it is for a good cause

PS I don t think UK farmers moan nearly as enough as they should, and you have many reasons to, I think you should go french style, when they are unhappy the whole world hears about it
Get your gloves off Organize guerrilla style, you'll be surprise on how many people like me will support you

 

[Bury the Trash]

About the same as a good solicitor . They do a job we can't do but it's a captive market so name their price .

there are good nhs dentists......

 

[Campani]

If you are ill abroad you get asked FIRST -How are you going to pay ?
By card
By cash
By Insurance ?
You will not be seen otherwise.

There is usually a price list tariff about too that shows you their charges.

I Bet you Casualty will empty quickly ???

That's not true. Separated my shoulder and broke a thumb in Canada, into the hospital, x rays, nurse and in a cast all within three hours. Great service and no mention of how I was going to pay the whole time.










Couple of weeks later got an invoice in the post mind, $13,000!!!

 

[Still Farming]

That's not true. Separated my shoulder and broke a thumb in Canada, into the hospital, x rays, nurse and in a cast all within three hours. Great service and no mention of how I was going to pay the whole time.










Couple of weeks later got an invoice in the post mind, $13,000!!!

"Stealth"approach was it ???

 

[Campani]

"Stealth"approach was it ???

Not really, I must have stuck out a mile, I had travel insurance so nothing to hide.

 

[Still Farming]

Lots come over here and Never pay I bet ??

 

[dstudent]

When on holiday with my mum in Portugal , she got very sick, heart faliure, they basicly saved her life, however the nurse did approch me about payment. Thankfully I had the EU medicard I don t know the correct name, it happened over 10 years ago. So that was it really. The doctors there wrote the all report in English, for free, which made it easier when we got home, for our doctor to carry on with my mum's care.

 

[Muck Spreader]

The biggest problem IMO is the public view the NHS as a right (they have paid their taxes) and not a privilege and misuse it because of this attitude. Ambulances are seen as taxis, hospitals are used as old folks homes, A and E units are somewhere for the waifs and strays of society to hang out in and so on. But at the end of the day the NHS is still fairly efficient for the budget they have to work with. If the UK had the same level of expenditure as say the US, it would undoubtedly be number one in the world.

 

[turbo]

Until we the general public sit down and have a proper conversion about what the nhs should and shouldn't do,all the money in the world won't solve it's problems at the moment

 

[matthew]

Until we the general public sit down and have a proper conversion about what the nhs should and shouldn't do,all the money in the world won't solve it's problems at the moment

I agree with that.^^

I've had brilliant treatment after two bad accidents. Couldn't fault them.

But.... my poor old mum was stuck in a surgical ward, and the only way I could get her discharged was to involve the CEO of the hospital. For 3 days and nights she was bed blocking, not because there was no care plan or place to go, but because the hospital - our biggest - couldn't get all its ducks lined up. Doc to discharge, drugs ex pharmacy and ambulance transport by 3 o'clock, so the crew could get back by end of shift. Her room at the nursing home was ready and waiting.
When she was eventually discharged, the drugs were still not available and followed her by taxi, 5 hours later. That is an 80 mile round trip.
Mum was in a wheelchair, very frail, aged 92 and with complex heart problems.
I had a dislocated shoulder so couldn't lug her around at all.

From TV programmes, many problems presented to A&E should be dealt with locally by GP surgeries, or minor injuries units. Not clogging up hospitals. Basic first aid should be taught in schools too.

And no one should be allowed into the UK without health insurance.

 

[dstudent]

We do, every hospital has an overseas team. I m not getting into how is done, but we do get paid, there are ways, systems put in place, we ve alerts in the system which tell us straight away who is entitled and who isn t. and if there is any doubt we ask for paper work, id passport etc, emigration gets involved, and people tend to pay up, very quickly.

 

[Skimmer]

I think all government departments are in the same mess whether NHS, RPA, EA, Police or Education to many managers coming in half way up the ladder, more interest in making sure the paperwork's in order so they don't get their backsides kicked than what is happening on the shop floor.