Printout of cost to NHS

[1dontunderstand]

I don’t think IBU but here goes:

I think every patient should be given a printout of how much their care has cost the NHS.

Every GP visit
Every vaccine for them or their child
Every midwife/health visitor
Every blood test
Every ambulance or A & E visit

I don’t think people have any idea how much their health care costs

'Wonderful service' is subjective.

The concept of the NHS is wonderful, the reality that a lot patients face is very different.

Can you offset my NHS treatment costs against my working lifetime NI contributions plus intrest?
I know it may not be enough, but should reduce the figures on my printout significantly.

I am lucky enough that so far I only used the NHS to produce future NI payers and a few niggles that resulted in a prescription from a nurse - cheper- that came with a prescription charge - reduced cost of item received.

Not to forget the dentist who insists I pay a fee every 6 months instead of 12 - my teeth are great but dentist insisted.

“Good news, you’ve got the all clear”

”Amazing, thank you, such a relief”

”And here’s a printout showing you how much you’ve cost us. Try not to get ill again, it’s quite expensive”

It would simpler to give access to/publicise generic pricing data for common treatments and procedures eg GP visits, antibiotic prescriptions, common surgeries & procedures etc.

This is one of the few areas I actually agree with private companies being involved in the NHS.

the supply of equipment, machines, uniforms etc.

not in the actual giving of healthcare provisions.

use private companies to drive down costs of consumables not to drive up for profit on healthcare provision

I'm imaging this could be done on the NHS app.

www.gocompare.com/health-insurance/the-bill-of-health/

This tool helps estimate how much you've cost the NHS

OR some might think they haven’t “spent” enough considering the high taxes they pay to fund the service so go on more medical outings 😁

@finallydones I am one of the 'ageing population' does that mean I don't pay shed loads of tax or paid in enough? well, I have been doing for 53 years and as a working pensioner now pay far more in tax than I paid tax and NI combined when I was working age as my state pension is part of my tax free allowance, I also pay tax on my private pension. Planning and investment I agree with but otherwise this is just another older people/pensioner bashing post many of whom will have paid just as much as you or even more.

The people who don't care about wasting nhs time won't care about this

The people that would care are those that would then put off seeing the gp/ going to hospital when they actually needed it out of guilt and it would end up as a serious risk to health

You don’t need to be defensive it’s not a personal attack, but it’s well documented that the costs of the population has to be paid by a generation behind them. It happens that in this case the generation is smaller.

what that means is that a larger generation with a small one ahead gets to reap the rewards of the lower tax burden but then followed by a smaller one means there is a financial shortfall.

so yes while you may have paid your taxes etc, it’s not just about tax but the government programs along the way which cost which those behind don’t get because it’s no longer affordable, while they pay a higher tax for less.

your generation has paid in leas than it needs, however that’s on a generation basis not a criticism of you directly.

My daughter has some disabilities and we’ve had several appointments over the last couple of years. There has been an admin cock up with pretty much all of them - appointment letters sent out after the appointment dates, original appointments not cancelled when I’ve called up to change an appointment, appointments made for days when DD’s consultant doesn’t work - have a look at this thread from the other day - www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4674675-nhs-appointment-system-screw-ups-causing-wasted-appointments?page=2&reply=121468510

We like to use the DNA statistics as a stick to beat the ‘ungrateful’ public with, but a significant amount are caused by the NHS themselves.

And as for the original post - yeah, great way to make those with disabilities or chronic illnesses feel great about themselves.

My daughter has been prescribed some medication - when DD dropped the prescription off, the pharmacist went out of her way to tell DD just how expensive the medication was. DD now feels extremely guilty and doesn’t want to take it. If she doesn’t (or if it doesn’t work) she will need a feeding tube, which I doubt will be any cheaper.

Or, when this started 2 years ago, she could have been listened to and perhaps it wouldn’t have reached this point. 🤷‍♀️

And as for the original post - yeah, great way to make those with disabilities or chronic illnesses feel great about themselves.

Why? They wouldn't be asked to pay out of pocket as would be the case in most countries. This kind of emotional stick is the reason nothing will ever change it will just continue to crumble (its already collapsed).

I had a medical appointment earlier this week. There was a poster on the wall advocating people to buy paracetamol etc otc because it cost the patient and the NHS more if its on prescription.

Because every time I go to an appointment I'll be presented with a "bill" of how much I've cost - which won't show how much I've paid in and which will make me feel guilty for wasting the doctors time - especially with my ASD. I already feel incredibly guilty for every time I have to attend an appointment and I have panic attacks going into the hospital due to the actions that were subject to the compliant. I was told disgusting things about my being at hospital and treated really badly. It's left a mark.

You honestly have no idea why it would make those with disabilities or chronic health issues feel bad?

Oh, yes, I forgot to add -the appointment letters that you receive after the appointment. A couple of appointments I only found out about because I phoned up to ask where they were. One important one needed me to fill in a detailed and complicated family history form to be posted back to them. The letter and form arrived the day of the appointment… And no, it wasn’t due to the post. They had only posted the letter to me the day before.

If we're going to do that op, then lets also have a monthly print-out of the collossally excessive NHS wastage. Like my mil being given 14 zimmer frames which they wouldn't receive back and her decades of having 14, yes 14 daily medications that she cherry picked which she'd take & stockpiled & handed out the rest to friends.

But it costs the same to the NHS regardless, the patient knowing or not doesn't change that, but for some it would perhaps make them fight a bit harder to protect the NHS. Most people are generally apathetic, which is fine if they're content with paying going forward for routine stuff much like they do at the dentist; but most are just generally ignorant about the state its in or feel entitled to whatever without bothering to get behind supporting HCPs etc. Something drastic should be done as it isn't functioning today, some wards have one nurse to cover the entire ward- this isn't safe. Patient safety is being compromised on a mass scale and yet many people are still frothing about the talk of pay rises or whatever. Sorry if some people would be caught as collateral in that their feelings might be hurt, but people are dying now due to the state of the NHS and its only going to get worse. Its scary.

I do but sadly to save the NHS I think something drastic needs to be done. Read my post above.

I got a letter in the post, addressed to me but the appointment was for a follow up for another patient. I called to try and notify the dept a few times and no answer. I bet that person DNA'd.

Having ptsd is a bit more than having my feelings hurt and it's ableist to suggest otherwise.

I’m sorry to hear this. However, I cannot speak for other specialist areas, only my own. My team call all patients 48 hours before appointments, in case their letters have been delayed, and some patients will say that they are attending an appointment, only to DNA on the day. When they are sent another appointment, same thing happens. It’s a small proportion of our patients, most are wonderful, but some are not. We can arrange to rebook an appointment with a patient if it’s no convenient, and our admin team will call a back any patient who has left a message on the same day, or at the latest, the following morning. My own experience of the other areas is completely different.

All this will do is stop people who need treatment seeking treatment