NHS=Negligent Health Service

ubersonic said:
Somebody in work today came up with a simple way to explain NHS problems to outsiders using a swimming pool analogy, it's really quite good (and sadly completely accurate).

  • The NHS is like a theoretical swimming pool, that's designed for 2000 people and requires 50 lifeguards.
  • The parent company wants to save money so they freeze wages and stop paying for proper maintenance, this means lifeguards start leaving for better jobs and it's becoming very difficult to replace them as not many want to work for below the industry average, the pool now only has 40 or the 50 needed life guards.
  • The parent company notices that lines outside the pool are getting bigger and bigger so decide the pool will now accommodate 2500 people at a time in order to cut waiting.
  • Staff explain to them that this isn't feasible, it would require more lifeguards and ideally an enlarged/extended pool, plus some of the waiting is due to the pool opening later some days as a result of the companies inadequate maintenance budget.
  • The parent company thinks it over and hires two additional pool managers in order to ensure the operation of their 2500 pool is managed better, the pool still has 40 lifeguards but now requires 60.
  • Children start dying at the pool as a result of there only being 1/3 of the required lifeguards, and safety issues from the poor maintenance, the parent company hires an additional manager.
  • Parents of the dead children start suing the pool over negligence.
  • The parent company condemns the running of the pool.
  • The pool still doesn't have the budget for adequate maintenance, or the hiring of the required level of staff.
  • The parents suing the pool win, the cost of the negligence claims means the pool can't afford to continue replacing lifeguards, now down to 35 of the required 60.
  • The parent company complains things aren't getting better at the pool, blames staff.
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True, except the lifeguards have been hived off to an external company. This company charges more than if you employed directly but pays the lifeguards a poor wage which results in a lot of turnover. The pool may need 50 lifeguards but at anytime 5 may be absent. The company decides to hive off the running of the pool to another company and the maintenance of the pool to another. New managers are employed to coordinate all the other companies.
 
Werewolf said:
I would argue that for certain things like painkillers they can be essential for quality of life and ability to function, but not for something that is "life threatening".

I'm not sure under what circumstances you're seeing them prescribed as IIRC around my way they stopped prescribing a lot of lower end pain relief years ago, but my mum used to get paracetamol on prescription (along with IIRC 2 or 3 other different types of painkiller) as her condition required the mix and short of popping into the chemist every few days it was the only way to get enough, as it was we'd always pick more up if out because the GP prescribed them in boxes of 100 (so the combination of buying and prescription meant she didn't have to go shopping every few days specifically for them and the gp was only doing one prescription for them a month).

I would also suspect that if you started charging for meds that were prescription but not for "life threatening" conditions you're going to add a whole new layer of complexity and cost to the prescription system, adding more work for pharmacists and slowing things down at a time when most of the pharmacists I've seen are already struggling to manage with the workloads, and as a bonus going to end up with people not getting medication that is for "non life threatening" conditions and those conditions turning into "life threatening" ones.
For example IIRC Omeprazole is required if you're on high doses of ibuprofen to help prevent stomach ulcers/damage to the lining, but as until you've got that stomach ulcer/damage it's not a "major" issue (and once you've got the damage it's hrder to deal with).
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The way exemption works is that you get every item free of charge no matter what it is, not just the medication for the condition.
 
the shadow said:
www.bbc.co.uk

Blackpool nurse guilty of drugging patients for 'easy life'

Catherine Hudson gave pills to patients, including Aileen Scott, to "keep them quiet", a court is told.
www.bbc.co.uk
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What amazes me is the amount of people who take it to social media and the evidence is there.
I have worked on so many staff cases (no patient negligence) and currently working on one now where everything is in Whatsapp or Messenger and I'm saving them into files.
These people are supposed to have high IQs but for some reason write all the evidence down in messages not thinking that the other person may bring them forward.
It's the same with all these Copper cases where they had private Whatsapp groups but one of them collects them all and whistle blows.
 
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My Mum complained to the GP receptionist about their laissez-faire attitude to my Dads cancer prescription dates, where they were not being fulfilled on time, prescription delivery to pharmacy stuck in their out box for days past their due date. The receptionist then put a note on my Dads medical record admitting they aren't following procedure and that my mother was rude! :rolleyes:
 
Need a smear test done at hospital as last time I had it done at the GP practice, the nurse was rough and spent the day and next in agony with pain and bleeding. As I’m not conventional in that dept of the body - hence why i can’t have children.

Many women who have had a similar experience like myself are put off by having future smears.

Have it done at the hospital. Each time I get discharged and need to get referred. The gynaecologist takes her time and don’t leave in pain or the need to wear night time pads for 48 hours.

After 15 months of waiting- I finally get an appointment, a consultation! Which is at the end of the month. How long would i have to wait for a hospital smear test?

This is wasting NHS money and time.

There’s no point in contacting the gynae dept as no one picks up the phone, leave a voicemail and no one responds.

Why can’t I be on a list and get called up every 3 years?
 
Not a complaint about the NHS but any fellow fatties had surgery recently?

I weigh a considerable amount and I have a GP appointment tomorrow where I know hes going to refer me for surgery that requires general anesthesia. I have read stories about the bigger you are the harder it is to gauge anesthetic and I am deathly paranoid about waking up mid operation and being able to feel everything but not being able to move or tell anyone.

Am I being silly or is it true?
 
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tonys said:
The way exemption works is that you get every item free of charge no matter what it is, not just the medication for the condition.
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Yet asthmatics have to pay for their prescriptions if they live in England and don’t qualify for free prescriptions in any other way - other conditions, claiming certain benefits etc. 4 people die each day on average from asthma!

I have a prepaid prescription which is about £11.90 dd per month over 10 months. As I have 4 prescriptions for asthma and two others for other reasons.
 
cheesefest said:
Yet asthmatics have to pay for their prescriptions if they live in England and don’t qualify for free prescriptions in any other way - other conditions, claiming certain benefits etc. 4 people die each day on average from asthma!

I have a prepaid prescription which is about £11.90 dd per month over 10 months. As I have 4 prescriptions for asthma and two others for other reasons.
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I’m an asthmatic too, maybe next time you go for a checkup ask them to put a couple of inhalers down on the prescription. I have 1 preventer and 2 relievers on my prescription but as the relievers are on the same line they count as 1 item for charge.
 
TheLegendOfMart said:
Not a complaint about the NHS but any fellow fatties had surgery recently?

I weigh a considerable amount and I have a GP appointment tomorrow where I know hes going to refer me for surgery that requires general anesthesia. I have read stories about the bigger you are the harder it is to gauge anesthetic and I am deathly paranoid about waking up mid operation and being able to feel everything but not being able to move or tell anyone.

Am I being silly or is it true?
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In 13 years I've only ever had one case where somebody said they have woke up and all the Clinicians in the theatre agreed she was dreaming.
The anaesthetist will have his eyes on you all the time and if your eyes open or his machines give off alerts he will give more anaesthesia.
Last year I was way fatter than I am now and I was fully awake, on an epidural :)
 
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Goodie said:
I’m an asthmatic too, maybe next time you go for a checkup ask them to put a couple of inhalers down on the prescription. I have 1 preventer and 2 relievers on my prescription but as the relievers are on the same line they count as 1 item for charge.
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Makes no difference as have 60-75 prescriptions a year for £119.

If you have 15+ prescriptions a year it’s worth buying a prepaid prescription
 
TheLegendOfMart said:
Not a complaint about the NHS but any fellow fatties had surgery recently?

Am I being silly or is it true?
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The risk of awareness during surgery is extremely low. For the obese patient, it's more the case of awareness whilst the breathing tube is being inserted, as the drugs acts differently in obesity.
You should be looked after by an anaesthetic consultant so I wouldn't worry too much.
(There are other considerations but I'm sure they'll go through it with you during the pre-operative anaesthesia clinic)
 
SexyGreyFox said:
What amazes me is the amount of people who take it to social media and the evidence is there.
I have worked on so many staff cases (no patient negligence) and currently working on one now where everything is in Whatsapp or Messenger and I'm saving them into files.
These people are supposed to have high IQs but for some reason write all the evidence down in messages not thinking that the other person may bring them forward.
It's the same with all these Copper cases where they had private Whatsapp groups but one of them collects them all and whistle blows.
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I came across this during a search, the posts were intriguing.

Question. What if you made a complaint to the governance team. First they emailed to say this is a pals issue not a governance issue. Few days later the governance team emails informing they will take ownership.

They told you , they would get back to you on a certain date. Governance team Email informing there are delays with the investigator being assigned but promise to get back to you on x date and investigator will contact the complaint maker..

Let’s say date of response has now passed by 14 days. There has been no information, no update, no contact by the investigator.

Question what is the next process.interested in the whole structure of responsibility and ownership.

Yes, NHS seems to add layers to all areas.
 
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clearbyte said:
I came across this during a search, the posts were intriguing.

Question. What if you made a complaint to the governance team. First they emailed to say this is a pals issue not a governance issue. Few days later the governance team emails informing they will take ownership.

They told you , they would get back to you on a certain date. Governance team Email informing there are delays with the investigator being assigned but promise to get back to you on x date and investigator will contact the complaint maker..

Let’s say date of response has now passed by 14 days. There has been no information, no update, no contact by the investigator.

Question what is the next process.interested in the whole structure of responsibility and ownership.

Yes, NHS seems to add layers to all areas.
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The usual path is Matron/Ward Manager > PALS > Complaints > Legal (contacted via Solicitor) where me and my colleagues deal with it.
The date of disclosure/getting a reply should be within 30 days eg a letter arrives on my desk today and we should reply by Nov 13th, we will inform you if we can't.
It can be a huge pain getting the info from the relevant Clinicians or staff but you should keep ringing asking for updates.
Of course if you're unhappy then write a formal complaint to the Complaints Team but that is another 30 days wait.

I've had to attend with my Brother in Law three times knocking on doors displaying my badge because they've forgotten about him and not put on the system.
The last time me and my Sister in Law went to PALS to complain and they got something sorted straight away and he gets seen on Monday.
It's embarrassing because I could end up dealing with his case if he gets worse because of their failure.
 
SexyGreyFox said:
Once again Clinicians using social media to incriminate themselves and people like me collect that evidence.
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using social media is one thing...but the fact that one could do this to another person...it's vile/disgusting/whatever adjective. very disappointing.
i always ask the question: if this was my mother/father/loved one, is what i'm doing good enough?
if the answer is no, then i should be doing better
 
SexyGreyFox said:
The usual path is Matron/Ward Manager > PALS > Complaints > Legal (contacted via Solicitor) where me and my colleagues deal with it.
The date of disclosure/getting a reply should be within 30 days eg a letter arrives on my desk today and we should reply by Nov 13th, we will inform you if we can't.
It can be a huge pain getting the info from the relevant Clinicians or staff but you should keep ringing asking for updates.
Of course if you're unhappy then write a formal complaint to the Complaints Team but that is another 30 days wait.

I've had to attend with my Brother in Law three times knocking on doors displaying my badge because they've forgotten about him and not put on the system.
The last time me and my Sister in Law went to PALS to complain and they got something sorted straight away and he gets seen on Monday.
It's embarrassing because I could end up dealing with his case if he gets worse because of their failure.
Click to expand...
The governance team timeframe given has passed. Just seems like they are their own worse enemy.
 
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