Future of the NHS?

[Iloveteaandcake]

What do others think? Is it sustainable in its current structure?

[Oddcat]

I really don't think it is tbh. Our trust struggles to recruit at the best of times , we're very short staffed and having to use expensive agency staff.

[Xennialish]

Running on goodwill at the moment in my area.

[Oddcat]

We had a senior financial bod come to see a couple of us to see how many staff we need for each procedure we do. She said she didn't need to know about the cath lab staff as that 'comes under urology'. She thought the cath lab was where they put urinary catheters in. The people that hold the purse strings really don't seem to have a clue .

[Iloveteaandcake]

It’s very sad
I love what the NHS stands for. However it seems to be at breaking point now. Running on goodwill definitely for many, many years now. Surely that can’t carry on indefinitely. So much burnout amongst its staff....and more and more vacant posts😔

[AndromedaPerseus]

No, if the NHS continues to remain free at the point of use in the next 10 years it will be staff by cheaper ie less experienced clinicians and there will be a significant reduction in the type of services it will provide

[DairyisClosed]

Clearly not. Standards of care are already unacceptably poor in some areas. They need to charge means tested fees.

[EachandEveryone]

We do pay for it though don’t we?

[JackietheBackie]

No, it us unsustainable as it is, and it seems like a deliberate attempt to make it unworkable. There are huge inefficiencies - IT for example. I shudder to think how muxh is paid out to Microsoft and other Software companies. It would be so much better to have a fantastic team of IT bods working and developing a bespoke in-house system across the whole NHS. But the savings and cuts are all short term quick fixes. They are just kicking problems down the road. The road is running out....

[Xennialish]

www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2018/04/02/nhs-hospitals-save-400000-switching-brand-surgical-gloves/

I have been saying for years that the NHS should do as described in the article but much further surely? Could we not buy a surgical glove factory?! I have worked in various roles in the NHS and as recently as 8 years ago (last time I was a clerk so no reason to suspect it's changed) department all stationary was being printed up to order in tiny runs by a local high street operation, just bonkers.

[Oddcat]

One small thing that irritates me , but guess it's part of the bigger picture , is all the useless , waste of money , leaflets that keep being printed . Our logo keeps being changed with meaningless strap lines and each time all the stationary is changed, all the old stuff is binned.

[Fuckwheresitgone]

The NHS could be more efficient. The NHS has teir upon teir of management, all on massive salaries, having endless meetings going round and round in ever decreasing circles. If you are high up in management, you need to be banging on the door of government telling them to give more money, (we are a wealthy country and there is money in our coffers) not cutting staff numbers and making ludicrous cuts for monetary saving at the cost of lives, and short term gain... its also too big, and too unwieldy which results in more wastage. But I think this is true of all government organisations and not just the NHS. Sadly I think many of those at the top of the NHS like many of those at the top of Government have lost sight of what's important and are in it for their own self gain, forgetting the basic principles of why the NHS was set up in the first place. I do think most NHS workers are amazing people and really do care about the NHS and i hope it will continue, but at 70 years old it needs a health check!

[WheelyCote]

Goodwill was holding it together however staff morale at a new lower low than before.
Management are using staff working models now. Deemed winter model, summer model, Spring/Autumn model. Basically each model requires an X amount of staff. It was brought in overnight and were there are too many staff in one place over summer are now being moved to other areas for 6months.
On paper it makes sense but the reality not.

[Babyroobs]

I'm not sure how the NHS will cope - a third of nurses set to retire in the next ten years ( I think), hospitals struggling to recruit already , Brexit and an ageing population and people living longer with long term issues like cancer and heart disease. It's unsustainable.