To ask why the NHS is cancelling operations?!

[CFEC]

I'm due to have a (much needed and waited for) op in a few weeks time, I've just rung my consultant's secretary as I haven't had a pre-op appointment letter through yet and queried it, as I wanted to make sure the operation is definitely going ahead as if nothing else, I'll be off work for 2 weeks and my boss would ideally like confirmation.

She said 'Oh, well they're cancelling A LOT of inpatient appointments, but as you'll be a day patient no, I think yours will go ahead.'

I swear I will lose my sh&^ and cry if it gets cancelled again, this will be the third time!!!

Why is the NHS cancelling operations left, right and centre?! Surely it can't be due to Covid still? If it is, what is going to happen to us all, so many people are going to die surely as a result of not getting treatment? A lot more than with Covid! Most people are double vaccinated now, this virus isn't going away, why are operations for in patients being cancelled?

@NotPersephone I don't get you. You don't rely on the NHS. You have a private GP, probably health care too. You are presumably wealthy. But you want to make changes to the system that most people are dependent upon and will clearly not affect you. Introduce a system that will undoubtedly make health care more expensive and complicated for the average person. Will create layers of bureaucracy, create a two tier system that benefits the sharp elbowed affluent middle classes who know how to work the system. You are on every thread complaining about the NHS. You clearly hate any kind of state provision, whether it be education, health, whatever. So what if your hubby is a consultant. You said earlier he is unusually right wing for a medic, says a lot about you and him.

This might help to give some perspective:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_hospital_beds

@NotPersephone what job do you do? And what organisation do you work for?

@NotPersephone - I understand why you are defensive given the exchanges you have had on this thread but you are wrong, there was no implication to my questions. I was just interested.

I was asking what job you do and organisation you work for as you speak with authority on what you perceive is problematic with the NHS. So I was curious where your opinions come from? Most people have a very arm's length relationship/understanding of the NHS. I was trying to establish if you were speaking from your experience working within the NHS, or a stakeholder or something?

NHS anaesthetist. Sympathies OP I know waiting for surgery is crap. We all do and it is talked about a lot but we the system is broken at the moment. As anaesthetists/ theatre services are key to providing surgery now but were also crucial to providing extra ICU capacity.

As a staff group we just can't keep giving. Most of my colleagues are just working to their job plans at the moment and doing no extra. I haven't spoken to many colleagues about it but my rationale is that I'm better off doing what I'm contracted to do and carrying on than going boom and bust with lots of extra lists and then succumbing to a stress related illness. They've been trying to bribe us with enhanced pay rates for extra work but no-one is interested. I think we all just need time off to chill.

It's especially bad at the moment as annual leave and self-isolation are also taking people out. .

Things are worse on the nursing side as they had a higher vacancy rate pre-pandemic and relied on a lot of EU staff many of whom have returned to their home countries not to be replaced.

Multiple colleagues (both nursing and medical) who covered covid ICU have PTSD so there is a really high sickness rate at present.

Then there are patient related incidents e.g people coming in knowingly with symptoms on our supposed covid free pathway (which is where the vulnerable staff are working) and causing them to go off to self-isolate in the short term. Long term cases like this have forced clinically vulnerable staff to question their decision to work clinically at all as their faith in the shielded role has been shaken so badly so they opt out which creates even more staff shortages.

What i can say is that my colleagues and I are going over and above on a daily basis to not cancel the patients booked on that day - our lists are running over virtually every day - in the past we may well have cancelled cases as we were out of time but at the moment because we know how much has gone into getting the patients there and how long the waiting lists are everyone has been staying late often by many hours (one of my lists last week was scheduled to finish at 17:30. I left at 22:00).

Oh and I worked in the labour NHS. It was SO much better than now. The tories have invoked a toxic combo of austerity in the NHS, social care, brexit and then bad pandemic management.

Don't whinge to NHS staff about the shit NHS moan to your MPs especially if they are a Tory.

[quote ForPingsSake]This might help to give some perspective:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_hospital_beds[/quote]
Scary, isn’t it?

@NotPersephone thanks for answering my questions.

I work in the NHS, not in clinical, but research. I evaluate services for efficacy within my trust (specifically paediatric and early health intervention services but I also do systems change) - it interests me when people have a critical mind on service performance, implementation, reach and delivery because it does need listening to, not only for patient safety reasons but accountability to public funds. Clapping whilst lovely, was not useful. It is my job to keep an open mind, be curious and listen to people who do not die on the altar of the NHS, so your posts have been useful to read and I think it confirms to me that people form their opinion primarily as a service user and then in a cultural context.

My DP is in charge of theatre lists in our trust as a manager in Theatres and Anaesthetics so I get a glimpse into the operational side. There is a lot of system change needed in terms or organisational flex and I think culturally there is a lot of work to be done on staff and patient status (the reliance on staff to do unpaid overtime, patients abusing staff and staff mistreating patients in particular because, well, humans eh?) but I am not fixed in my opinion that the NHS is good versus bad. Who can really know whether such a huge, complex system is either right or wrong, evil or good? It is the only tool we currently have to organise our nation's healthcare, it is a flawed tool because it is run by humans (don't get me started on AI) and it is interesting to see where that tool can be improved.

@NotPersephone zealotry is the wrong word, we are not blindingly loyal to the NHS we see that there are huge issues that need tackling but the whole organisation has been subject to half arsed tampering for so long by governments of all colours no wonder it's not fit for purpose. I understand why you are so critical, I have experienced similar myself, but I also work within the NHS and can see the positives.

Kudos to MauveMavis. It must be so hard to deal with at the moment; some people just have no idea.

Those on the right aren't in a majority actually. They win elections because of our flawed, archaic FPTP voting system, but if you look at the actual votes, more go to parties that are not right-wing.

@adeleh

Those on the right aren't in a majority actually. They win elections because of our flawed, archaic FPTP voting system, but if you look at the actual votes, more go to parties that are not right-wing.

Not only that, but there was no majority in 2010 or 2017.

Those on the right aren't in a majority actually. They win elections because of our flawed, archaic FPTP voting system

You mean the one that has favoured the left for several generations? They win more seats on the same share of the national vote

www.independent.co.uk/voices/boundaries-review-bias-constituencies-voting-system-labour-theresa-may-dup-a8538971.html

www.theguardian.com/politics/reality-check-with-polly-curtis/2011/sep/13/reality-check-bourndary-reform

First Past The Post voting systems tend to lead to two party domination, with other parties being woefully underrepresented. The two top parties can change - as happened when the growth of the Labour Party displaced the Liberals - but what doesn’t change is the way the system massively benefits the two top parties.

@NotPersephone love to know who you voted for in a GE
More financial investment is required to fund the provision of additional appropriately qualified staff in clinical areas, more bodies on the ward to help, to provide decent care, attend to patients’ needs promptly and compassionately, it’s a simple as that. Believe me. You want your relative to be turned two hourly, decent oral hygiene to be performed, to be fed, fluids encouraged, drugs to be administered promptly and safely, you need a decent skill mix. It’s not rocket science honestly.

As others have said - lack of beds. Don't know what area you're in, but there is a huge problem sourcing care packages in my area which impacts on hospitals discharging to make room for you!