Live chat with Lord Darzi about the NHS - June 10th 1-2pm

[carriemumsnet]

Hi All

Lord Darzi will be joining us on Monday June 9th to talk about the NHS and its future, and to hear your views on how you think it could be improved. Lord Darzi is a Professor of Surgery who joined the Department of Health in 2007. Since last July he has been working on a review of the NHS, talking to NHS staff and patients about how they think it should be reformed. He's already set out plans for new health centres to be open 7 days a week, which will complement GP practices and offer an extra way to see a doctor.

His final report will be published at the end of June.

Lord Darzi still works in the NHS as a consultant surgeon two days a week and is married with two children.

As always, if you can't make it on the day, please post your advance questions here and we'll try and get as many as possible answered. Otherwise, we'll see you Monday lunchtime.

Everything we do should be for the benefit of patients, not for us.

At the risk of going on about polyclinics, Lord Darzi -

could you comment specifically on the 'may offer enhanced prenatal care' issue, which the briefing doc for Ashford, Middx hospital polyclinic states -

on what basis can the private bidder choose whether to offer this - and why should one GP patient (using polyclinic) receive enhanced care because they have made the switch to the polyclinic?

I think this is a real sweetener to encourage people to swap - and then it may / may not happen but either way will lure people from their current GP who can't offer onsite midwives / antenatal care (mine do at present but I suspect the point is that this will change / be stopped).

Grateful for your confirmation on a wider basis - I'm sure this isn't unique to my PCT. Thanks :-)

Well, the majority seem to understand that a child might be nervous or anxious or upset and they work to deal with that. They talk to the child in a sympathetic manner, and they tend to be more reassuring to the parent. Only one experience recently where i had to intercept as the guy making a mould of DD's ear for her hearing aid just went ahead and started doing without explaining what he was about to do etc. I had to jump in quickly and pre-warn DD what was about to happen (cold gunk to be squirted in her ear!).

But, I think its normal for ALL patients to feel like child patients. A great many folk havent been to hospital before. They dont know the layout, they dont know what to expect at the appointment and it can be very disconcerting - that WITHOUT the added worry about whatever health problem it is that they are going for in the first place.

Yes, most of us are not daft, but, that's not the point really, is it?

I have thought more about putting records online. It is a nice idea but it would be expensive and time consuming. The NHS has very limited resources and I would much prefer those resources to be used on emloying more midwives, doctors and nurses. I would prefer money to be spent on incentives to hospital cleaners to acutally clean (unlike the one who took 5 hours to clean the blood from the floor of my hot ward in St Thomas' hospital). The NHS needs less radical new thinking and more effort spent on getting the things it already does right.

artichokes - i think we have enough money being invested in the NHS now (£100bn+) and we need to make sure it's spent as well as possible, to improve the quality of care and the patient experience.

sorry this isn't really a question. check out NHSScotlands 60 year old NHS website. the timeline makes for interesting reading.

"NHSScotland 60 years"

I will look at the Scotland site. We're celebrating the 60th birthday in England too.

What can you tell us about plans for an NHS constitution? What will be in it? When will it be published?

If it is true that the NHS has enough money then why are maternity wards closing? Why are there so few midwives that post-natal care is virtually nonexistent? Why are many women left to labour alone sue to staff shortages? If it is not a question of money then what is it?

The PM announced in January that there will be an NHS constitution. I can't say what will be in it yet but I'm expecting to publish a consultation paper on it with my final report. Do you think a constitution will be helpful to patients?

I'd be interested to know about plans for more SALTS, and, what LordDazi thinks of the current state of the service, particularly the service to LEA.

you mean, in the same way that the NHS Charter was?

There is enough money in my view, but we can use it better. I would like to see all maternity services run in line with best practice evidence. That might mean more staff for some local services and fewer for others. Looking at the evidence is what the local clinical working groups have done to inform the regional vision documents that I mentioned earlier, and I expect we will see improvements as the visions are implemented.

Yes, I would like a constitution. My hope is that it will define what the NHS does so that doctors can know what they are meant to deliver and patients can know what they can expect to receive.

Communication is always a good thing, in my opinion.

the constitution will only be helpful if a copy can be seen by all NHS users -but more importantly if it's actually stuck to by the NHS and all who work for it. Plus of course, if a vast amount ISN"T spent on branding it etc.

What will a constitution actually achieve ? We all know what the NHS is there for, and what the principle is, so I don't see the point.

What the NHS needs is less words, more action - and more centralised administration so that what is effectively a huge company isn't left under the management of non professional managers with huge replication of administration.

Thank you for your responses LordDazi....I have to get on and do some work of my own now!

ggglimpopo - non-attendance at appointments is a big issue, you are right. It would be wrong to somehow try to force people to attend - in the end it's up to them - but there are things that the NHS can do, like sending reminders and making sure people understand the implications of not turning up on other patients. Also, many non-attenders are vulnerable patients who may have good reason for not attending, and it's important we remember that.

Lord Darzi, do Department of Health employees use NHS services, or do most of them use private medical services?

Mumsnetters - I've got to go now. Thanks for your comments - good to chat. Have a good day.

Ara

ps Look out for my final report which will be out in the next few weeks.

I don't think everyone does know (or agree on) what the NHS is meant to do. For example, there are huge heated debate on here as to whether a woman is entitled to a casarean. Some people think every woman should get to choose, others think NHS resources should go elsewhere. What can I expect? If I have a document that outlines what is and is not offered by the NHS I can better make my choices.

Also, Lord Darzi, what about patients being kicked out of the NHS because they sought and paid for top up treatments privately. Is this allowed? I think it is outrageous.

My children see a specialist here in France whose secretary sends a text message, 48 hours before the appt. It works on two levels - as a reminder and secondly, it seems so personal_ one wouldn't dare miss the appt!

ggg - some hospitals here do the same thing using NHS Mail. Not quite as personal but effective I think.

Thanks for stopping by Ara - is good to know you're listening.

This has been a really good chat. I wonder if there is somewhere we can contact Lord Darzi if we want to follow up any of things covered here?

MN Towers, can you point us somewhere???