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Original poster

Should NHS staff get prioritised treatment by the NHS

147 replies

mids2019 · 04/01/2023 19:29

Should NHS staff get prioritised treatment by the NHS.

The logic is that by facilitating recovery of NHS staff as a priority you actually make the whole system more efficient by reducing absence levels. To some extent this already happens with staff being allowed access to cancelled public appointments and there has been a hidden culture of serving or retired medical staff moving a little up the waiting list as a recognition of their service (but like a staff discount in retail I guess)

is this a good idea and should the NHS be more open about it?

OP posts:
Ihatepcos · 04/01/2023 19:30

No, absolutely not.

MajorCarolDanvers · 04/01/2023 19:31

No

Tontostitis · 04/01/2023 19:34

Yes let's also prioritise teachers, social workers, Ed Psychs, and council bosses. Those pesky net taxpayers shouldn't be sucking up NHS resources anyway let em die.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

General health
HundredMilesAnHour · 04/01/2023 19:34

Absolutely not.

Tontostitis · 04/01/2023 19:35

Not the police or army those sorts deserve whatever they get.

rosyAndMoo · 04/01/2023 19:35

mids2019 · 04/01/2023 19:29

Should NHS staff get prioritised treatment by the NHS.

The logic is that by facilitating recovery of NHS staff as a priority you actually make the whole system more efficient by reducing absence levels. To some extent this already happens with staff being allowed access to cancelled public appointments and there has been a hidden culture of serving or retired medical staff moving a little up the waiting list as a recognition of their service (but like a staff discount in retail I guess)

is this a good idea and should the NHS be more open about it?

No, I'm NhS staff. There are already occupational referrals for staff who obtained work related injury/illness - these are separate to public appointments. But the NHS is the biggest employer in the Uk. If they prioritised their own staff over patients, then the wait times for the general public would be even longer and wouldn't be fairly assessed on need. The NHS already supposes their staff who are off sick by having very reasonable sick pay terms.

runningonberocca · 04/01/2023 19:35

No. I’m NHS. I don’t want to be prioritised on the basis of my job.All patients should be prioritised according to their clinical need only

Augend23 · 04/01/2023 19:35

To those saying no - I can see you can't bump everyone in the NHS up the waiting list.

But if you have a staff member who e.g. is having a lot of time off due to gall stones. A simple 1hr (?) operation will have them back at work in a week. They can otherwise do 140 outpatient appointments a week but can't if they're off sick due to pain. They try their best to be in, but if they can't concentrate to make safe medical decisions then they have to call in sick last minute resulting in cancellations. Once this is fixed, the NHS is reliably running those 140 outpatient appointments where before they were cancelled.

To me this clearly improves the service the NHS offers its patients and seems like the right thing to do even if it doesn't immediately look "fair"?

ClubhouseGift · 04/01/2023 19:38

Of course not. Everyone has a reason why they should be a priority.

AnyFucker · 04/01/2023 19:40

there has been a hidden culture of serving or retired medical staff moving a little up the waiting list as a recognition of their service

I work in the NHS and have never seen this.

randomsabreuse · 04/01/2023 19:42

Yes, definitely! If someone is off sick because they're waiting for a procedure then they'll be back sooner to reduce the waiting list. So bumping the nurse up the list improved staffing and allows more beds to be utilised with safer staffing. Same for any member of frontline staff who would otherwise not be working...

I'd also prioritise for diagnostics as getting the people who run the system back to running the system makes it work better for everyone! Which is why NHS staff were at the top of the list for Covid testing and jabs, to keep they system working as well as possible!

chipsandpeas · 04/01/2023 19:44

generally No - id only say yes if they were only taking cancelled at the last minute appointments that otherwise would go to waste

Jumbojem · 04/01/2023 19:46

Is this potential fast track system just for front line staff? Who decides which staff are "priority" and which won't help the waiting list go down? There are many many NHS staff who are nothing to do with getting waitlist down, or whose jobs involve seeing patients. Policy makers, procurement, HR - do these all get fast track? This is why it's a no go policy, it would take teams of people to set it up, at out the policy and organise the booking in. Those people might as well carry on as they were and just prioritise everybody based on need.

MissyB1 · 04/01/2023 19:48

Would you rather have NHS staff off sick or at work?
Oh and they don’t get any bloody perks working for the NHS, if they look out for each other when they are sick then good on them!

Original poster
mids2019 · 04/01/2023 19:49

@AnyFucker

Maybe the culture has changed a bit but often consultants would not go for private healthcare as it would seem culturally wrong for NHS doctors to rely on private health care. The quid pro quo was their colleagues would expedite treatment a little. The profession of patients is readily available in staff records.

OP posts:
Kissedbyfire1 · 04/01/2023 19:49

Yes

Original poster
mids2019 · 04/01/2023 19:52

@MissyB1

Well.It does happen a little with a couple of understanding conversations between staff who directly of indirectly control patient scheduling.

OP posts:
Kinneddar · 04/01/2023 19:53

Tontostitis · 04/01/2023 19:35

Not the police or army those sorts deserve whatever they get.

WTF kind of comment is that. What a disgusting attitude

Original poster
mids2019 · 04/01/2023 19:55

@randomsabreuse

Good point. You can see from this thread how it might be politically difficult to be open about it. It really does make sense of you have niche specialist staff whose absence has significant ramifications for a service - cardiac surgeon for example.

OP posts:
Izzy24 · 04/01/2023 19:58

AnyFucker · 04/01/2023 19:40

there has been a hidden culture of serving or retired medical staff moving a little up the waiting list as a recognition of their service

I work in the NHS and have never seen this.

No not have I. I am completely unaware of this happening . What makes you think this is the case?

Original poster
mids2019 · 04/01/2023 20:06

@Izzy24

Patient professions are stated in medical records.and in some cases the profession may have influenced prioritization which is ultimately a medical decision.

Our trust, like many organisations, has a health and wellbeing policy to assist the health and wellbeing of staff. It would seem an obvious idea that health and wellbeing are promoted by making healthcare appointment s accessible to staff possibly through an OH service.

OP posts:
rosyAndMoo · 04/01/2023 20:06

AnyFucker · 04/01/2023 19:40

there has been a hidden culture of serving or retired medical staff moving a little up the waiting list as a recognition of their service

I work in the NHS and have never seen this.

I've been in the NHS 20 years and have never seen it either

HotDogJumpingFrogHaveACookie · 04/01/2023 20:11

No. NHS workers are no more special than anybody else. Everybody should wait their turn otherwise where does it end? Can we keep bumping people down the list because they're unemployed and thus not impacting other services?

FleasNavidad · 04/01/2023 20:14

I've seen it and I'm not in the NHS! Also fast tracking for friends and family on occasion.

HappyTalkingTalkingHappyTalk · 04/01/2023 20:15

Patient professions are stated in medical records.and in some cases the profession may have influenced prioritization which is ultimately a medical decision.

I don’t think so, unless they’ve been specifically asked as they want to see if their condition is affected by their role and to offer suggestions as to adjustments that could make things easier.