To feel in despair about the NHS

A few years ago our gas was cut off for over a week while there was heavy snow. We were all issued with electric heaters and things for cooking on. They could not be returned afterwards because they would all need safety tests before being reused.
The wastage caused by Health and Safety must be astronomic.

The same thing happened with my dad's Virgin tv box. They have told me I can do anything with it as they no longer want it back. No wonder it costs so much if they don't recycle the older boxes. Surely they could offer these at a reduced price? I can't use it as I won't have a service. Silly.

Since the rules preclude them being reissued to patients in this country, could they not be sent to a third world charity rather than just destroyed?
A sister at our hospital used to take back unused drugs to send to a charity in Africa.
I am not sure if she still does that.

Am I the only one who feels the NHS has become a sort of sacred cow that no one is allowed to propose changes to or criticise without being condemned as elitist or Tory or wishes to privatise? I think the idea of the NHS is great, but it's just got overall too inefficient and could do with real reform. Not sure who would be brave enough to take it on. Politicians only dare try piecemeal and ineffective reforms in small areas. The whole system needs a complete shake up. IMHO. Germany, France, and even Italy and Spain seem to have some areas of health care which outshine the NHS in terms of quality and efficiency. Could we learn something from them?

Many thanks for the explanation.

Gononsuch I only know about equipment because I broke my leg and had crutches etc! The time/money it would take to clean and sterilise them outweighs the benefit of them being reused. If people do return them, they are incinerated,

I used to work in a pharmacy hence I'm aware of the drugs policy, too.

Thanks SueDonim

That has explained the situation and I'm glad that you took the time, you see, it all makes sense now.

I've got a month's supply of DH's chemo drug which is worth several thousand pounds. If he eventually has to go back on it that will be fine but if they decide that next time it won't work it will be a complete waste.

Much of this is to do with concerns about bacteria and MRSA. Hospitals don't want to take the risk of infecting anyone with a serious illness. It's come about since HIV/AIDS and Mad Cow Disease, which were unwittingly spread through hospital practises.

Medication isn't reissued in case it has been tampered with. There's no easy way to determine whether that is the case especially if they have been in someone's home. Even without the bacteria side, the home may have had a cat or dog in it, which the next person may be allergic to.

It is a waste, I agree, but until there is some way of testing, that's how it is.

Absolutely agree with you greyduster
I couldn't help wondering why my DBs GP wrote a prescription for 5days when he had warned us he might not last 24 hours (he died a day later)We couldnt rerurn the 'complan'type meals either Three huge carrier bags-worked it out to £400 worth .Double sealed Fortunately the local hospice took those
Dd2 works inNHS They are desperately short staffed and she is always stressed It makes me so angry

It is totally beyond me why drugs cannot be reissued to another patient when the package has obviously never been opened and it is well within date.

I have no experience of medical equipment, but the thing that gets me wound up, and is a colossal waste of money, is the amount of unused, still sealed, packages of drugs and medicines that are destroyed every year because they have either been mis-prescribed, or are otherwise not required by the patient (a friend's DH sadly died within hours of her picking up his next lot of medication from the pharmacy. Not even the paper bags containing the boxes had been opened). Since the rules preclude them being reissued to patients in this country, could they not be sent to a third world charity rather than just destroyed?

3 months after I had my #ankle pinned and plated in 2009 a lady with a van arrived and picked up all of my OT equipment. At least it would be cleaned and reused.

I have kept my crutches and Zimmer frame because I knew that I would need them after my next knee replacement.

Occupational Therapy asked us to ring them if and when we no longer needed anything we had been issued with and they would collect.
Seemed reasonable.

Perhaps a large deposit charged might work.

The " drop them in sometime" mindset operates at our local hospital so of course many who were very grateful for the use after their vey expensive new Knee, hip, etc just can't be bothered.

About 14 years ago I tried to hand back some crutches to our local hospital and it was like asking them to take back a plague ridden hankie!

That's what happens when beaurocrats run something instead of the clinical staff who experience shortages of equipment everyday and find this very frustrating. Some accountant will have worked out that the cost of collection outweighs the cost of buying a new one

I have written to my MP expressing my concerns about this practice and the waste of public funds and tax payers' money.

I was on crutches a few years ago, and it was a case of, when you have finished with them, " pass them in when you next passing". I did when I next passed which wasn't for a while. But I can only imagine how many were or are never returned.

I still have some AIDS after my hip op which the hospital wouldn't take back-how wasteful!

same happened to me after my husband died they wouldnt take anything back, so I donated it all to the local hospice charity shop so at least someone would use the items.

Ithink the S.O.used to pass things like that on to the Red Cross.