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

I'll try and say this kindly, the world doesn't revolve around you. Its not ableist to want the NHS to continue on, those with disabilities and other conditions that require medical support will be the worst off when it's irrevocably damaged- which arguably it already is.

I've never had a phone call to remind me about an appointment.

@Curtayne a letter detailing the cost isn't drastic. It's utterly pointless, plus the implementation and running costs would be ££££ (which I hear the NHS doesn't have).

I'll say this kindly. It's still ableist.

My neurology appointment letters say on the bottom how much the appointment would cost with a note saying it's important to cancel if you can't make it. I don't mind this, DNAs cost the NHS a lot of time and money.

I definitely agree with the intention but not sure how it could be rolled out in a way that would have the desired effect!

I always laugh when people complain about vet bills and how expensive they are and compare it to their own NHS treatment. As if it has no cost - SPOILER ALERT it's only FREE AT THE POINT OF USE folks, and not even that these days.

I do find it scary just how complacent many people are about their economic ignorance (and health, and environmental and political..)

It's almost like there has been a collective decision to just ignore all these challenges and hope they'll go away. Because that's worked out so well in the past, hasn't it?

Sadly this is the case when HCPs have been leaving in their thousands, although the overall spending on the NHS has increased it doesn't touch the sides of the requirements for the society we live in, and services are either collapsing or have basically disappeared. Part of the issue is the inability to ever discuss changes to things without people coming up with a plethora of reasons why it can't be done. Genuinely it's a terrifying time to need care and it's only going to get worse.

A large number of DNA are admin errors.
I've called to cancel an apt on more than one occassion and then been given an earful the next apt for being a "no show"
(See also appointment letters being received after the apt date) Theses are not isolated examples, they happen fairly frequently.

I don't want to know how much I've supposedly cost them through a missed appointment that I did cancel but the info has somehow not been recorded.

I hate this continued assumption that we are all just wasting the NHS's time. I have spent twelve hours sitting in A&E in the last two months with my DC - one sent by GP with concern about a possible hernia, one with a fracture. Believe me I wouldn't have sat there for all that time through choice.

I have also been through 3 or 4 GP appointments (two by telephone) and 3 sets of antibiotics that could have been completely avoided if a GP could just have physically examined my child I'm the first place and not misdiagnosed an infection that wasn't there.

Using the NHS takes hours out of my time and I would far, far prefer that my children did not have any issues that needed treating.

I may now have to take a day of unpaid leave because apparently the fracture clinic cannot give me a time when they will call and I should be available at any time to answer the phone, although I do a job where you cannot answer the phone. Shall I bill the NHS for wasting my time?

You can think what you like hun.

Do you want to make people feel guilty for using a service they are entitled to and most people pay tax for?

As some one witha chronic illness I already beat myself up about being a burden I don't need any more help. There's a reason you can buy prepaid prescriptions if you take a lot or it free if on certain benefits. I know the medication is expensive I'm not an idiot. Should I be writing a thank you card to the NHS and taxpayers each time? Do you not think I might feel shit enough about my life and health without having to make sure I appear suitabley grateful for the NHS. I am grateful but I don't need a print out "here this is how much you're costing the country". I mean what if they decide I cost too much!

How is it not ableist? It will be the disabled and chronically ill who will receive these letters most.

For someone like me, the cost will be immense.

I am too expensive. Should I just be euthanised?

A large number of DNA are admin errors.
I've called to cancel an apt on more than one occassion and then been given an earful the next apt for being a "no show"
See also appointment letters being received after the apt date) Theses are not isolated examples, they happen fairly frequently.

☝🏼this...

Also. What @WhyOY said.

I can understand your sentiment but the people who don't appreciate the NHS or who repeatedly don't bother to attend appoints honestly don't give a shit. For about 10 years we've had a sign up in our waiting area detailing how many appointments have been wasted/lost by none attendance in a 3 month period. No one bats an eyelid because the people who do this repeatedly don't care. I work for the NHS as well as using it as a patient, it's far from wonderful in both respects. Toxic to work in and chaotic to be on the end of receiving treatment.

I'd worry that this could guilt trip people into not going for NHS treatment when they really need it.

Well enjoy the future when it'll be mostly paid for at point of use, there'll always be a reason x can't be done or y can't be done- we will get the health service we deserve. The staff will definitely be better off under a different model, I'm excited to get a fair wage.

We already pay for the NHS through our tax contributions, so no I don't need a bloody printout of the costs. Especially when I know far more people who avoid the doctors and medical treatment than ones who "take the piss".

One major issue is that people hold off on going to the doctors until their symptoms get unmanageable which means that the NHS incurs a higher cost of treating what is now a more complex issue than they would've if the condition had been nipped in the bud (think things like infections, tumours etc).

There's not enough money put into preventative care. So what could've originally been a simple treatment plan (e.g. pills) for a mild heart condition could then escalate to surgery and possibly a transplant - and which do you think would cost the NHS more overall?

What about genetic conditions people have, it's not their fault they have to use the NHS more - should they be guilted every time they need treatment?

What an absolutely stupid idea.

Omg. Do you work for the NHS?!

Ha I was thinking also whay @medicatedgift said!

What about genetic conditions people have, it's not their fault they have to use the NHS more - should they be guilted every time they need treatment? aparantly so

Patient safety is being compromised when diabetes nurses berate their patients for using life saving insulin because its expensive.

The staff will definitely be better off under a different model, I'm excited to get a fair wage

HAHAHAHAHA - that just will NOT happen.

As a long term out patient (25yrs), I'm probably aware more than most about how much my treatment costs and I hate it already. I already have guilt but I also know the flip side that the expensive treatment has allowed me to work and pay tax which I wouldn't be able to otherwise. That expensive treatment has reduced my need for expensive surgery and disability support and has enabled me to function independently which has reduced my burden on society in other ways.
I know I'm lucky to receive the care that I do on the NHS without having to jump through hoops that other people in other countries do. I'm also aware of how that care has changed in 25yrs. The pressures on the services are acutely obvious to those of us who rely on them for our everyday lives.
I think that unfortunately this kind of approach would deter people who really need help as they would feel guilty or make people stop using services too early which is a false economy as they come back sicker, and the piss takers will continue to take the piss.