Waste in the public sector

[mumzy]

AIBU to be incensed about waste in the public sector which we all pay for?. I was listening to the news about waste in the public sector which if reined in could fund essential services. I've worked in the public sector and in my time have come across shocking amounts of money wasted. Examples include:hospitals letting thousands of pounds of drugs to go out of date because fridges were'nt checked on a regular basis. Computer systems in the NHS which are so unuser friendly they are more of a hindrance than a help. A council department paying consultants mega bucks to come up with policies which were'nt fit for purpose when a perfectly good template was available free on the internet and we only needed to fill in our details. The same department paid a marketing company to come up with a promo event which we had to redo as users did'nt understand how to use it. Has anyone else come a cross similar waste in the public sector

Couldn't you just wear a face mask?

Anyway we'll see what happens. It depends how big the financial crisis is as to how deep the cuts will be and I don't think any of us know that yet.

I don't get paid if I'm off sick. Huge numbers of people don't int he UK and their taxes pay for public sector workers many of whom skive. Why is sickness leave double in the NHS what is it in the private sector? Surely NHS workesr should be healthier than the rest of us as they will know all about healthy eating, keeping slim and taking exercise.

xenia- I know of many cases where an employee has wanted to work but has been signed off sick for months due to bad breaks of limbs in specific physical/ dangerous roles. Do they have a right to be paid?

I think a lot of sickness is caused by people doing unpaid over time or having a lot of stress. It maybe shows my point that it is better not to do lots of unpaid over time. It is better to work in order to live than live in order to work. The only sickness I had in the last three years has been due to quite major pregnancy complications. My sickness record is pretty exemplary.

Maybe JollyPirate needs to follow my example and pace herself a bit. there is no point in her making herself ill with over work. Mothers will take and take and the health visitor needs to look after herself to be effective in the work place. Sometimes that does mean saying "No!"

Health visitors are a prime example. The number of health visitors has been completely cut to the bone. In our area they mainly do child protection work and the traditional work of supporting mothers is done by nursery nurses.

The problem with this is that mothers can develop quite major mental illness. The nursery nurse may well be able to advise on baby care, but does not have the skills to look after the mother. I also suspect that doing lots and lots of child protection work can't be good for the mental health of health visitors.

This is a false ecomony as early intervention through listening visits can stop postnatal depression in its tracks. It can stop someone developing a life long mental health condition.

the biggest waste in the public sector is publicly owned bank bonuses. why penalise what's left of the welfare state?

Xenia - you need to grow up and get real.

I think that if people who work in the private sector really don't get the concept of being too ill to do your job, that just proves that they're earning money for old rope, basically. Perhaps they should try getting a real job, like in the NHS for example. They wouldn't though - it doesn't pay enough.

I got paid sick pay (at my normal rate) when I worked in retail (and would have got paid maternity pay above the statutory rate).

Dh works in the private sector and gets full pay when sick and 2 weeks full pay for paternity leave.

My brother works in the private sector and gets full pay when sick and paternity leave. His work also offers generous maternity benefits, particularly for those who return to work.

Massive generalision re: private sector benefits, but yes we could reduce public sector benefits to the same as the worst of the private sector. And then watch as all the good people leave.

Precisely SuzyKettles. I somehow don't think the legal sector for example (your area of expertise Xenia IIRC?) gets away without providing company sick pay for its employees either. Here's one for example, chosen purely at random:

• Private medical health insurance
• Life insurance
• Travel Season Ticket Loan
• Gym Loan
• Eye Care Vouchers
• Childcare Voucher Programme
• 2 weeks Paternity
• An additional maternity leave package on top of the statutory allowances
• Pensions
• Overtime - limited to certain roles

Gosh you lot have it hard in the private sector don't you!

Xenia you do need to get real, I've worked in both sectors and currently work for a "Quangle" most public sector roles have been cut, without the support or investment, unlike private sector!

If there is a work related injury for instance in public sector, getting a temp to cover can be nearly impossible, so imagine how when work is busy trying to get cover!

Yet in private sector extra headcount isn't an issue it can be got around loads of ways!

Public sector is also very much pressured for time/budgets/efficiencies admittidly there are policies/procedures in place which make things long winded look at the amount of paperwork the police now have to do! And this is because we've become a litigatasious (SP not usre its even a real world) and will sue the arses of someone......so they have to cover their tracks which involves more paperwork/more unpaid work all for no thanks and not getting on with the job they want to do!

NHS is even worse, they have so many targets but whilst more money is spent on consultants than front line staff but where do they get the balance? They need good people usually from successfull private sector backgrounds to help them but they cost money to its a catch 22 situation!

Yes, my public sector is extremely cost effective when it comes to covering maternity leave. They don't.

We've got two people off on mat leave at the moment out of a team of five. You'll be delighted, as a tax payer to know that their salaries are being saved and those of us who are left are working unpaid overtime to fill the gap.

My public sector employer that should say.

Gosh what an original topic - bashing public sector employees! Of course we're all thick, lazy and shite, earn shed loads of money but do F* all for it - silly me I forgot!!

BTW whilst we're on the topic - what about their pensions - OMG do you know how much the average Civil Service pension is - per annum - ? £6500 - that's right £6500 but we really do need to do something about cutting their pensions because they get such huge ones.

God this topic pisses me off.

FWIW I just could not walk out at the end of the day if a mother came in distressed and needing support. I just couldn't do it and would worry about her all night if I did. It's less about pacing myself because it's not usual for the example I've given to occur but it can and has on occasions. The mother who turned up 20 mins before I finished one evening having gathered anough courage to talk about a partner who was severely abusive. It's not something you can just walk out on. I rang my Mum and arranged childcare then settled in to help this mother. That involved womens aid, attempt to find a space in the refuge and arrangements to collect belongings from the home (partner was away). I left once things were sorted and a worker from the refuge was with the mum and child. Two hours all accounted for which I have not taken back because I can't.

I don't doubt the merit behind Xenia's idea - my brother in the private sector does not get sick pay for several days if unwell. But he finishes on the dot every day, always has a lunch break and gets a generous discount in the company stores as well as private health care etc. It's not the same.

FWIW my sick record is good, one week in the last two years with a chest infection. Also although we are short-staffed the team I work with are fantastically supportive to one another which goes a long way towards keeping those sickness levels down within our particular area.

Doesn't matter what I think as the gravy train is ending and we have run out of money and as ever it will be the poor who are hit.

www.taxpayersalliance.com/thrl2010.pdf

www.taxpayersalliance.com/thrl2010.pdf

I think that document provides lots of food for thought Xenia. It is shocking that such a few should be on hugely inflated salaries while the front line staff providing the actual services earn so little.

I would like to see some streamlining of senior positions and also prevention of constant re-branding and re-naming of different areas with huge cost in the form of new paperwork to be printed.

I actually hope that some of this WILL be addressed because then it may mean less need to look at sick pay - bottom line is that if you have enough staff doing the job then people don't get overworked and stressed out so are off sick less. At the moment there are not enough indians but plenty of chiefs.

JollyPirate, I take your point about the mother suffering domestic violence. However I still think that health visitors do get unfairly exploited and over worked.

In my area many of the primary visits are done by community nurses rather than fully qualified health visitors.

Health visitors need to develop a set of balls. (methaphorically ofcourse ) The general public or decision makers have very little idea what they actually do. Often cuts get made in the wrong parts of the public sector. This leads to more waste than ever.