To ask what YOU would do to help save the NHS?

[TamiTayorismyparentingguru]

I don’t care if you’re an HCP or not, I don’t care who you vote for, I don’t care what you think about Brexit - all opinions welcome.

Opinions on practical suggestions on how to save the NHS only though.

Our local hospital is getting worse and worse with regards to staff shortages and waiting lists getting longer and longer. I will say that our GP is really great and we’ve never really had a problem with getting appointments etc, but as soon as you are referred to the hospital things go massively downhill. (We did have a GP misdiagnose/miss DH’s cancer which was pretty shit - but I wouldn’t say that was a particular problem with the system - more just one of those unfortunate things that happens, that really shouldn’t happen, but that are just a matter of course.)

The hospital is a different story though - wait lists for some departments are insane (current wait time for an initial cataracts appointment is 42 weeks and then up to 18m for treatment, paediatric dermatology is a min of 30weeks, paediatric podiatry is approx 30weeks also. I have been on a wait list for max fax for 14mths so far. I also had an 8week wait for an appointment at the breast clinic after seeing the GP with a noticeable lump.)

DH has also had to fight for every single appointment since his cancer treatment last year - instead of the 4-weekly appointments he’s meant to have had, most of his appointments have been 7-8 weeks apart and have been cancelled at the last minute (sometimes just an hour before) at least 4 times in the last year.

It’s awful and yet I do trust that the doctors, nurses, receptionists etc etc are all doing everything they possibly can.

What’s the solution?

Kick this rubbish government out. They're systematically destroying the NHS for ideological reasons and financial gain for their buddies.

Stop hospitals sending out letters requiring you to call to make an appointment. You call, only to be given an appointment (can't choose) then you receive another letter confirming the appointment. Such a waste of postage costs and administration.

This is so true.

I've recently received a letter telling me that I will be receiving an appointment for breast cancer screening. Right, ok. So 2 lots of printing and postage. Why not just send me the appointment?

Remove some tiers of management.
Recruit and properly value staff to retain them.....rather than using agency staff at huge cost.
I've known nurses to leave perm. post to go bank agency solely to get flexibility that they cannot get as a perm.
This makes life even harder for remaining perm. nurses.

Scrap the ridiculous pension
A friend I know, has just been given a pay rise, works PT and serves tea, the pay rise was back dated!!

Kick this rubbish government out. They're systematically destroying the NHS for ideological reasons and financial gain for their buddies.

Here in is the reason as to why nothing will happen.

No government of any colour has done well with the NHS.

An honest discussion needs to be had where party political opinions and views need to be left at the door. It will never happen though and that's incredibly frustrating and sad.

I keep receiving letters about booking a procedure - I can't have the procedure and the GP is aware and yet the letters keep coming. She told me to just bin. I mean, really in 2018?!?

Pay Nurse and health care assistants more. On the face of it the wages don't seem too bad but it is often only a reasonable wage because of enhancements which mean working a lot of very long shifts, night shifts etc. I have worked as a Nurse for 30 years and have just left nursing , well I am still doing a little bank work. I've witnessed a lot of very traumatic deaths , dealt with very aggressive patients and relatives and basically burnt out. There was little support, poor management etc and the unit I worked in struggled to recruit and retain staff which just put more pressure on everyone else.

It needs signifianctly more money putting into it. Money per head spending is way below that of Europe/ US.

Waive uni fees for nhs proffesionals. Staff wages need to higher, again on a par with Europe. If you want to attract the best then they need to be paid a relevant wage.

I'm a GP, in my area we have some great schemes for reducing outpatient waits.

Dedicated phone lines and email addresses for GPs to seek advice from hospital Consultants, can often save needing to refer the patient.

One Stop Shop clinics where in one appointment you see the specialist, have a scan, have a biopsy if needed, get a treatment plan on one day, rather than multiple appts.

Triage Referral schemes- GP refers patient and the referral is triaged by a team of specialists who decide what type of appointment is best initially and arrange any tests needed before the appt. So saves patient waiting months for consultant appt to be told "I'll refer you to have a scan/ see physio/ see other doctor".

The main area where these innovations is lacking is mental health, which sadly is very frustrating to try to get advice or get anyone to see the patient.

I think one reason doctors can refer too much or order too many tests is that many of us practice defensive medicine as we are so worried about missing something and getting blamed. It would be good for the NHS to have a blame free culture of learning from things that don't go well, victims of malpractice should receive prompt compensation but we should recognise that even excellent doctors and nurses make mistakes sometimes. I think then doctors would be more confident not referring or organising a scan "just in case" and patients actually needing a referral could be seen more quickly.

Me, I would have people paying for treatment required because of their own doing- I would pay for any treatment required because of my weight.

I would allow pharmacists to prescribe antibiotics for minor infections like throat etc.

I would have contractors who work for the NHS stop charging absolute shedlods, yes businesses shouldn’t go busy doing NHS ward refits etc, but they should not be able to ok some of the costs that are.

CHARGE PEOPLE FOR MISSING APPOINTMENTS

I don’t know how that would work around here. Sometimes I get appointments for several weeks before. They even have the date it was typed out which is often after the appointment.

Firstly I would go back to the old system with regards to nursing. Now you have to have a degree to do nursing but for a lot of people who are looking at doing A levels and a degree they will want more pay and better working conditions than a nursing career will offer.

This one would save a huge amount of money. When a patient goes to see a doctor and says they think they have X, then test for X first. Not decide to test for everything but X over the next few days, weeks, months or years and only then having ruled everything out test for X.

Another one.

STOP MAKING OLDER MEDICAL STAFF WHO ARE NOT DOCTORS REDUNDANT.

Friend was a nurse for 30 years. Apparently they had so many nurses they made her and all those that had a particularly long service redundant.
Now apparently we have to bring in people from overseas because there are not enough nurses.

Not a nurse or doctor but a pharmacist.

One older pharmacist ran the very busy pharmacy dept virtually single handed.

Everything was on time in the right condition and was in order.

They were told their hours were reducing to 1/2 day per week. She quite rightly took redundancy and got another job.

Position was filled with first 2 then 3 then 4 newly qualified pharmacists.
The whole place was a mess. Literally. Peoples medicines bagged up and being kicked around the floor instead of being put in the fridge.
Dp would go to collect the prescription and find they had lost it. On a regular basis.

Even when you got your bag it was invariably missing something because either it hadn’t been put in the bag or because it was kicked around the bag had a hole in it and a box of pills would have fallen out.

They did ask for the original pharmacist to return as there were so many complaints but she had a new job.

stop consultants swanning off midday on a Friday for their lucrative private practices/rounds of golf.

Oh and here's another :

Senior consultants who retire early take a huge pay off and then come back as a "Freelancer" with their own private consultancy business charging a fortune to the same Trust they retired from.

It's depressing reading threads like this because there is so much misunderstanding about the NHS.

My area spends around 2% on manangement. All audits say it isn't enough. We have got rid of most admin - so middle managers spend loads of time printing and photocopying instead of managing!

Bringing in charges won't work - unless you bring in a LOT more managers. And those charges would largely affect the elderly - who would go mad!

Overseas visitors are charged where appropriate and legal.

Get in some shit hot procurement professionals to stop NHS being fleeced by drug companies and other suppliers. Most NHS wastage imo is from paying way over the odds for drugs and supplies to the extent that I think NHS procurement managers must be taking backhanders as no one can be that incompetent

Stop voting Tory and put tax money into it so it is properly funded again.

Me, I would have people paying for treatment required because of their own doing

What is your own doing though? It would be really difficult to do. I mean technically pregnancy is your own doing.

Look after my staff properly.

It is not ok to work 12 hour shifts with no break. Stop villifying people who are doing their best, under extreme pressures with shit resources. A.no blame culture to learn from mistakes.

Staff morale is on the floor. I am in my 2nd year out of medical school. None of my peers plan on applying for training next year. None. And we are postgrads who have come into this later in life and should be keen to climb the ranks. Everyone is burnt out and it feels like a huge accident waiting to happen. I have yet to meet a nurse who enjoys their job.

The issue is though how come Sainsbury’s can source & sell it for 19p but the NHS can’t?

The NHS pay a dispensing fee to the pharmacist to supply and issue the medication, around £8, on top of the cost of the medication.

So many GP appointments are wasted for people wanting free calpol/ occasional ibuprofen/ moisturising cream. I understand for people who are poor, but plenty of people chat about their frequent holidays abroad then are horrified when I won't prescribe cheap over the counter medicine for minor illnesses "but I get free prescriptions!".

Try to create a national HEALTH service rather than a national ill health service. Reward GPs for keeping people healthy.

Much greater focus on life style issues - healthy eating, far less tolerance of alcohol abuse, cutting down on smoking and illegal drug use, more exercise for all.

Prescribing of social and sporting activities for those with mild depression.

Silly sally, yes but that’s not an illness that’s costing the NHS millions, but obesity is, diabetes medication, blood pressure medication. After a certain BMI cut off- somewhere between obese and morbidly obese I guess...

Pay according to your income. It doesn’t have to be a parody of a health system like in switzerland where some people pay health insurance and can’t afford to go to the doctor (huge deductible), but a fixed rate per visit depending on tax categories would help a lot.

Put more money into social care so that elderly people can be cared for either in a suitable nursing home or at home.

Fund decent mental health care services so that people do not have to attend A and E in an attempt to access care.

Offer services such as xrays in clinics attached to GP surgeries. This would essentially triage a great deal of people without a need for people to be sitting in A and E.