NHS wastage

[Jean-F]

i recently underwent a procedure on my eye, as a day case in hospital.
On leaving, a nurse gave me a bunch of eye drops, saying, “This one twice per day for three days, this one four times per day for two weeks, this one four times per day for a week, and keep those ones refrigerated, these painkillers for whenever you feel that you might need them.”
I said, “Hold on, twice a day for three days equals six tablets, the box you gave me holds twenty four tablets, likewise the four times per day for a week one equals twenty eight tablets, you’ve given me four boxes each containing twenty tablets.”
He said, “What you don’t need, throw away.”
I said, “Might it not be better if you gave me just the amount I need?”
He said, “I just give out what I’m told pal, if you don’t like it, contact the Department of Health.”
It’s no surprise that the NHS keeps needing more £ if this is normal.

 

[Jean-F]

Why are you putting tablets in your eye? I suspect you’ll be back sooner rather than later…

But you’re right, we don’t need more money spent on the NHS (well, we may but that’s beside the point). We need to waste less of the money spent.

You’re right, I put tablets when I meant drops, perhaps I should have said units, my bad.

24 tablets might be the minimum amount sold per box. Or if there is a smaller one, someone decided it was not worth the extra storage space stocking 2 options. To be honest I thought this was about the confusing instructions as I was lost with what you were meant to be doing... I don't think I'd do well being old and drug dependant to survive with the speed they go through a complex amount of instructions.

I was confused when he was telling me, but I was given a printed page giving details of which med and how often.
I suggested that as the boxes were all sealed, could I take the unused, seals still intact stuff to a local pharmacy, I was told that a pharmacy would only scrap them anyway, once they’d been issued to a patient, that was it, no returns.

 

[Jean-F]

The boxes hold a certain amount and are sealed. Once they are taken off site, you could be lacing them with all sorts, so they won't take them back and give them to anyone else. They must also be issued with the instructions/warnings/side effects/etc leaflet. It's not worth their time to take out sleeves of tablets that they then don't have a box/leaflets for.

I can understand all that, and I would expect it, but I was talking about returning hermetically sealed, unopened boxes, or not being given too many boxes initially.

 

[Jean-F]

Was it a cataract op?

I’ve been waiting 18 months for mine. Haven’t even heard anything yet and have been told I won’t for a long time. Backlog is utterly horrendous

No, it was chelation of right cornea, in layman’s terms, removal of calcium deposit by scraping, sounds horrendous but with a local anaesthetic it was virtually painless.
Plus the drop dead gorgeous Chinese ophthalmologist who did it made me wish that she’d take her time and stay hovering over my face for ever.
I had it done to the left eye a couple of years ago, prior to having the left cataract done, that time by a beautiful Greek ophthalmologist, (I’m beginning to see a pattern here at St. Thomas’s Hospital), and I’m assuming that this right one will be a prelude to having the other cataract procedure.

 

[Jean-F]

I wonder if these kinds of low effort hit and run posts are a result of private capital trying to undermine and privatise the nhs by trying to stir up criticism of it.

Well as the OP, I can assure you that I don’t fall into the category of someone trying to undermine and privatise the NHS with my non existent private capital, I was just more than a tad surprised at the flippant dismissal of my admittedly none too strong protestations against an obvious profligate waste of NHS resources.
Boxes of eye drops left over when you’ve finished the course? Toss ‘em in the trash.