Has care in the NHS and in social care improved over the last year? The Department of Health wants your views: £50 to be won NOW CLOSED

[RowanMumsnet]

Hello

As some of you will know, following the public inquiry into the failings at the Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust, the government responded last year with a set of commitments for improvements.

A year later, the Department of Health would like to know what you think about whether there has been a real improvement in the care provided by the NHS and social care providers as a result.

They say:

"When we receive care, whether that is in the NHS, social care or in our own homes, we expect, and have the right, to be treated with dignity, respect and compassion."

"Two independent public inquiries reported appalling failures in the standards in patient care at Mid Staffordshire hospital, and in the system of healthcare regulation. As a result of these inquiries, the Government said that improvements had to be made. These include a new inspector for hospitals and a tougher, independent inspection system; more nurses on hospital wards; and plans in place for turning around failing hospitals. (To see the Government's response in detail, have a look here.)"

"We are looking now at what progress has been made in improving patient care."

"Have you noticed an improvement in care you or your family have received in the past year? Do you have examples of how it's improved or changed? Do you feel more confident that any changes introduced will improve NHS care? What do you think are the biggest challenges for making care even better?"

"Material from this thread (and from another thread we're running on Gransnet, and other activities including discussions with people working in the NHS and care providers) will help inform our assessment of progress. It may also be included in an annual progress report, the first of which will be published later this year."

Over to you. Everyone who posts on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £50 John Lewis voucher.

Thanks
MNHQ

I would say "no". My mum had an operation on her back last year - she was in the 5% where it was unsuccessful and has been waiting ever since for another op - just over a year now.

No, I think the waiting lists are becoming too long and the prescription charges are too high, especially when Scottish residents get free prescriptions - I feel this is very unfair!

I think the NHS is a phenomenal resource, but I do think the staff are perhaps being pulled in too many directions.

definitely not! Nurses are so over stretched, departments are under staffed and people are living longer and coping with more illnesses. Its a shame for all who work in the NHS as they do such a fantastic job but dont get the credit they deserve, all you ever hear about is waiting list and things going wrong. The NHS is the one thing about the UK that i am so proud of !!!

I think that the NHS is at its all time low getting rid of the PCT had in my opinion led to more mis management and a poorer service

Unfortunately I don't think it has at all, it is getting worse if anything!

No - far too much paperwork and box ticking exercises, and not enough actual care going on

No.

Mental health:
My son was in the unlucky situation that he needed some mental health help. The GP said there was no CAHMS in the area any more, and nothing available on the NHS. We dont have private health care. We had to pay £650 for a private assessment (charged at £450 per hour). CBT would cost £300 a pop. We paid for the assessment, but cant afford to follow up with monthly or weekly CBT. GP suggested a voluntary organisation that provides counselling for teenagers and young adults, and after some time on the waiting list my son got 30 minutes a week, and this helped. It is amazing that the government will happily let young people not get the help they need. Do they not realized that troubled teens today is tomorrows adult? So, the only realistic option is to line the pockets of a private psychiatrist, or rely on the goodwill of skilled counsellors giving up their time for free.

Physiotherapy:
My son had problems with his ankle after another childs skateboard hit him at great speed. He was referred to physio. Waited months. Got a date at a clinic 45 minutes away. He had his first treatment, got a date for the second treatment. He was ill, we rang the clinic to reschedule. Nobody answered the phone. There was an answer phone service, so I left a message explaining he was ill and could not attend and could they please call me to rearrange or send a letter with a new appointment time. Nothing. I kept calling. No answer. A few weeks later I received a letter that he had been referred back to his GP as "no further treatment necessary" due to not showing up. That is one way of getting the waiting lists down and manipulating statistics!

Maternity care:
Now, this was a long time ago, as my children are 9 and 12. I stumbled and fell over in the park (playing with my son) 2 weeks before my due date with my second child. My bump was hurting, so my husband took me to hospital to get me checked out. The obstetric doctor that checked me over found that I was fine, and good to go home. She left the clinic (within the hospital), with me laying in a small room on the side, by the wall, on a small narrow consultation bed. I had no chance of sitting straight up due to being 9 months pregnant, no space to turn over. I was the last patient. I had no access to phone, my bag was on a chair. I could not move. I called out. Nobody. I struggled to get up so badly, my bump kept hurting more. I was found by a nurse that came in to check that all the lights were turned off. They transferred me to the ward for observation overnight thinking my placenta could be ruptured, to have a scan next morning.

I did not know it, but at the time my files said I suffered from SPD. Nobody had told me. I got no physio for this during pregnancy. But the midwife following me up after delivery told me, but then I could barely walk!

What doctor leave a patient with spd behind on a narrow bed and leave the clinic for the day?

I have NO faith in the NHS.

I plan to go back to my native Norway and within the next 10/15 years (and luckily due to eu rules I can get my pension transferred) as I cannot risk growing old in this country. This country has turned health care and care of the elderly in to extreme sports.

I understand now that this is the governments way of forcing through further health privatizations, by slowly but surely turning the NHS into a shambles. But, as it is going this way, private health care family packages should be compulsory for all employers to provide the way pension is, and the cost of private health care should be regulated so that it was affordable to all.

i think i varies so much that a definitive answer cannot be given for this in a general sense

It's awful! I waited a year for a much needed operation so I wasn't in constant pain and could eat properly, and the after care is non existent!

Not for me. Our local walk in centre has closed down, I'm on a 2 month waiting list for physiotherapy & unable to use my right arm at all so could really do with emergency treatment but I can't afford to go private. Also my NHS dentist is terrible & getting worse. I had an emergency appointment booked but had to wait weeks for it & now I've had a letter to say the dentist is now going on holiday so my emergency appointment is now on the 5th november...ridiculous

No it's gotten worse

i think it has improved due to social media making things discussed more openly

I haven't had any bad experiences but I do feel that the NHS is getting worse because the nurses are so stretched!

We need more NHS nursing home beds not private ones making huge profits! And in the majority of those private homes beds are being paid by us the tax payer as many folk can not afford the extortionate fees so rely on top ups.

More NHS homes please, stop people from profiteering our basic needs.

Lack of funds means lack of staff in hospitals, so I think the lack of funds for the NHS makes things worse every year.

Deff not, my granddaughter has been waiting for an operation on her eye for over a year, was told she would have an appointment end of Aug beginning of Sept, then she had a letter last week asking if she still wanted to be on the list, like the eye has just magically sorted it's self out

There may have been improvements in some areas, but to be honest, I've not seen them.

Social care and mental health care are terrible and probably getting worse, not better.

It's time more money was spent on nursing staff, than on management teams. it's also time, different departments worked together more, intead of passing the buck.

I recently had my baby and I went to a brand new birthing suite. I would say the care was absolutely excellent though I could have done with being able to access maternal services in my local town not one 45 minutes drive away (because they are now combined). As for within social care I would say that's worse and services have been affected by the recent cuts.

Yes and No. We had a recent scary experience in hospital with our 11 month old and he stayed in for a few days after. The nurses there were AMAZING! What they see and have to go through with little ones and loss etc then pick back up and still put on a smile for the other patients has to be commended. I have nothing but good things to say about them. However my husband has been going through an operation process to sort out his snoring (yes its that bad) and its been a constant nightmare of appointments cancelled and changed and bumped off surgery on day etc so that side of it and the under-staffing issues has to be worked on.

DEFINITELY GOTTEN WORSE!!

Can't say I've seen any changes.

I had brilliant care with a recent neurological problem.

My husband has Type 2 Diebetes, and his NHS care is exceptional.

He has regular checks at the local Health Centre (5 minutes walk away), and sees a nurse, chiropodist, or doctor (if necessary).

Luckily I haven't needed to see a doctor much, but all you do is phone the Health Centre, and can make an appointment to see a doctor the same day.

Hard to beat.

Was very disappointed in the 'care' I had for my cancer op. Really offhand and uncaring. Not looking forward to attending hospital again.