Thread 14 Starmer - The Starmeristas Strike Back

[DuncinToffee]

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https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5224857-thread-13-starmer-facts-are-for-lefties?page=40&reply=141063174

I'm wondering if NHS plan seems to be delayed - I was expecting it this month. but interested to see this from Starmer

"Our plan will see 17 new and expanded surgical hubs created by June, scaling up capacity for the most common procedures so people are seen more quickly.
The NHS will also make better use of the precious assets it already has. Diagnostic centres operating 12 hours a day, seven days a week. This will mean up to 440,000 more appointments a year. More of those appointments, tests and checks will be carried out in community settings. Access to healthcare where and when you need it so that you do not have to take time off work, sort childcare or rearrange your plans."

www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/keir-starmer-prime-minister-nhs-plan-ntsvkrqrc

Nice to see you back @Notonthestairs, sorry the new year’s got off to a rough start.

He is still at it with a poll asking if America should liberate Britain and other ridiculous tweets. My suggestion of an alien invasion looks quite sane

@Notonthestairs

Wtf does that even mean? He needs to cut down on the drugs.

Or find a new hobby that doesn't impact on anyone else/the rest of the world so much

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce8xl4d3m81o

Sorry to hear that @Notonthestairs hope things are beginning to settle down a bit

This will fall on wilfully deaf ears I am sure.

Sorry you have had a crap start to the year ,@notonthestairs

Good that Jay has spoken out.

Farage very restrained here. I wonder what he is saying in private. Larry stuck the boot (paw) in perfectly.

I saw somewhere (sorry can't find it now) that the CSA inquiry findings were sort of 'under reported' by the MSM because they were published the same day that Liz Truss resigned as PM and in the feeding frenzy around her the report was pushed off the front pages. I honestly can't remember but September and October 2022 were pretty full on in news terms.

Yes the report was published on the 20th October 2022 - same day that Truss resigned.

careful in that he doesn't spell out why SYL isn't suitable for Reform - tiptoeing around supporters.

We need to thank Musk. He has (unwittingly ?) created a litmus test for UK politics which may well force the extremists back a bit.

I can't see any mainstream credible UK politician supporting his "Free Tommah" bollocks.

He'd probably be a twat without the drugs.

Useful distraction enabling the Tories to kick it down the road then.

Given the state they were in they probably didn’t even notice it.

Speaking of grooming gangs, here's one for SYL and Musk to get their teeth into

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/edl-english-defence-league-leigh-mcmillan-jailed-paedophile-old-bailey-a8231231.html

So not clear if the timing was a fortuitous coincidence for them or if it was deliberately hiding the news?

That all sounds good on paper but where will the trained staff come from to carry out these thousands of extra appointments a year.

There was an article on the news last night about Labour wanting more people to access services through the NHS app, like booking hospital appointments etc. They interviewed a GP who said that the people who used the NHS the most, ie the elderly, most of those don't have a smart phone and if they did are not tech savvy.

My GP surgery has merged with 3 others so 4 surgeries now cover roughly 50,000 patients but only one of the surgeries takes calls from patients. The phones are manned by 3 receptionists. Whenever I ring for an appointment I am told that the queue is full and to either try again later or do an online econsult. The problem is that the econsult only takes so many forms and then that too shuts down, so it will let you fill in the form and submit it but it doesn't actually go anywhere. The only way I can get an appointment or telephone consultation is if I actually go to my surgery in person. Fortunately I am able to do that but many elderly/disabled people can't. The whole system from GP surgeries upwards needs to be looked at.

Edited to say I couldn't read that article as behind a pay wall.

Agree but all and any attempts to improve the NHS are going to be be-devilled by staffing and resource issues which I'm certain the government are well aware of!!

WRT the issue of technology impeding access for some vulnerable people I've been trying to help someone this morning navigate this exact issue. From previous experience
111 can be helpful sometimes in getting a GP appointment urgently*
Using e-mail to communicate with the surgery rather than econsult

Todays issue was solved by using the pharmacy Minor Illnesses Scheme by phone

It's tricky tho' and as usual is a patient group whose needs are not well met anyway - suspect not even thought of sometimes

*and being very firm that an ambulance is not required because it's neither an A&E problem nor something a paramedic can solve

Recently had two instances of my local hospital working weekends, I had a echocardiogram on the Saturday before Christmas & Dh has a phone appointment on Sunday explaining a procedure he is having in a couple of weeks, so maybe an example of trying to work through some of the backlog.
my GP no longer takes phone calls for appointments you have to have an app & fill out what the issue is, they then either text or send through invitation for an appointment it works fairly well but if the quota for consultations is full you have to wait until the next day, I can navigate it reasonably well not sure what the protocol is for those who can’t or don’t have a smart phone.

This is what my DD is experiencing in the NHS now.....

.... the emphasis is on productivity i.e patient turn-over, she is spending a great deal of her clinical time justifying why she is doing X and not Y, this generally means less patient time and faster discharge of patients... these are patients already at home but needing additional support, the end result is they end up back in Hospital and or needed more on-going support.

The amount of TOIL she does is off the scale, so much so she ends up losing it, as they simply cannot let staff use it, nor is there the budget to pay over time.

Her Band 7 is dropping down to a B6, as she is pissed off having to upset staff implementing these changes.

All this is totally different to her Australian exp and worse than when she left the NHS a year or so ago.

A positive is she gets paid a lot more now, then again, a lot is taken from her in the form of loan repayments.

I find econsult an absolute pain in the arse. I am very aware that my learning disabled child is highly unlikely to ever be able to use online services. They will always need additional support for day to day living anyway but the switch to online services is closing off a means of accessing support that might otherwise be open to them. I am dreading the shift to adult services.