To be annoyed by obvious waste by nhs

Possibly the result of too many ex-pats chrissyh.
When my DS was ill in Italy recently his doctor spoke no English, he used Google translate to explain what was wrong. Possibly there may be an electronic solution in the future but until then I think we have to stay with interpreters.
After all if people are working and paying taxes shouldn't they have the same service as everyone else?

The NHS spends millions on translation services whereas it doesn't seem to happen in other countries. My friend was taken ill in Spain and there wasn't anybody who could speak English. They weren't at all bothered but when they found she was on holiday and didn't actually live there, they did find somebody who spoke English.

If I were unfortunate enough to fall ill whilst on holiday abroad I would fully expect to have to pay for an interpreter myself.

Mabel2's point is just one example of the terrible waste within the NHS. It's under enough pressure as it is, with all the extra demands put on it by the huge numbers of immigrants flooding into this country.

Lots of us know people who work in the NHS and most of those people are extremely hard working. However the systems are often disastrous especially for Procurement. It isn’t only about getting the best price but also about employing all the people who negotiate the contracts, the reports that have to be written, dealing with Preferred Suppluers who might have a relationship with those at a higher level. It’s the same in the Fire Service and Council. The Fire Service has rebranded several times in the time I’ve been involved with it and it costs a fortune in new uniform, logos, stationery, etc. The waste is criminal.

"sarahelenwhitney" our NHS is most definitely NOT envied by the rest of the world. We spend more per head for poorer outcomes and everyone has a horror story of poor NHS care but when it comes down to it no-one is allowed to criticise "our wonderful NHS" No it isn't wonderful. It does some wonderful things but it's not fit for purpose. People need to take off the blinkers, look at actually successful health care systems and find politicians brave enough to stick their heads above the parapet to suggest changes. ……..I see Dumbo flying overhead right now......

Trisher, I also have members of my family who work for the NHS, but neither I nor they think it’s perfect. No huge institution is.
I think that Gransnet reflects a wide range of views, I don’t think it’s a forum for people to ‘have a go’ at other people because they don’t agree with them. No one on here should be having a go at someone else because of their views.

maddyone I have a go at people who think they have in some way a right to have treatment whenever they demand it, who make unreasonable demands on NHS staff and who criticise and carp about things, allege waste and corruption but can only quote as evidence a story told to them by someone. I've family who work for the NHS and recently visited a local hospital every day for over 3 months. I am so impressed by the dedication shown and work done.

Re the interpreter who demanded an interpreter story, can you not see that in the heat of the moment, where you might be experiencing considerable stress, you may find that you cannot think as quickly or accurately in your non-native tongue? It is perfectly possibly that the guy was working the system but better that than a miscarriage of Justice.
It is also difficult for family to be impartial. For example, my mother is English speaking and is blooming awkward about everything. The other day she was speaking about going back on a medication which is highly addictive and makes her even more vulnerable. I might be tempted to interpret that she doesn't want that particular medication if I could get away with it because it will make everybody's life of those caring for her, absolutely hellish. I'm not the type of person to do that because I believe that, as hard as it is to cope with, she has the right to make up her own mind but others may not see things in the same way.

Imo you should be able to understand and make yourself understood in the language of the country you live in, unfortunately a lot of people ex pats and otherwise don't. This can be for a number of reasons, lack of courses, lack of interest, cultural restraints to name but a few. The families I mentioned wanted to translate for their relative themselves, thank you to all who pointed out why this shouldn't be allowed. To the person who said I didn't make it clear who wore badges, it was the interpreters, and they were not volunteers as they both sat comparing their hourly rates when they weren't needed.

Trisher, what is your problem? You appear to have a go at everyone who doesn’t agree with you!

Do ex pats learn the mother tongue of the country they are living in? Mostly no. The Welsh have leaflets etc printed in Welsh and why not its the mother tongue. People living here who have english as a second language need an interpreter because as other posters have said its all about care. The use of printed information in other languages is important for people who do not have a big grasp of english, it is important that public services are just that, they serve all the public.

live7 sadly this is typical with old people. Could the care home not telephone first to ensure they will be welcome and the relevant person will have time to talk to them?
I didn't say people had no right to speak out Nonnie I said isn't it funny how they know but don't do anything!

Because families can misinterpret and say what they think rather than what the patient has said.

Yes, trisher I would pay more for the NHS but only if it became more efficient. Of course people who don't work in the NHS have a right to voice their opinions about the way it works, or doesn't work. Surely you have opinions about services you use like transport, water, travel? Perhaps some people on here do volunteer as you suggest but prefer not to blow their own trumpets? Imo it is arrogant for anyone working in the NHS to think they know it all and cannot improve. Anyone with such an attitude in the company I worked for would get sent on a Personal Improvement course.

I think there is a possibility of hospitals in France getting 'Chatbots' which can translate for patient and Dr. It's difficult with a second language knowing medical terminology especially when one is already worried and stressed.

trisher you take your life in your hands if you speak up within the confines of the hospital that you work in. I also worked in the NHS and also know that bullying is rife unless you belong to a certain clique so speaking your thoughts would create a hostility that wouldn't have been conducive in the environmental conditions in which we worked.

I am finding this an issue at the moment and think it must be because of underfunding. An elderly relative has been in hospital for a month - the last 3 weeks waiting for a bed in a respite care home whilst a broken bone heals. Whilst waiting she picked up an infection which meant a delay as she was no longer medically fit for discharge. The care home have visited twice to assess - once they were turned away because of the infection; the second time she was fit but the 2 nurses on duty were covering from other wards and said they couldn't help, so the care home were turned away. Since then she has picked up another infection. It feels very frustrating and although the hospital say it is really important for her to leave hospital (freeing up a bed) there doesn't seem much action unless we remind them.

Isn't it amazing how people not working for the NHS anymore know exactly what is wrong with it. You wonder why they don't volunteer for their local CCG or become a governor of their local trust and put everything right!

Nonnie the hospital wouldn't be 'closed' It may be that certain services were not available, but there would still be doctors and nurses working, still patients in wards for whom services such as scans, x-rays etc would be available should they be urgently needed. I have been in 2 of my local hospitals recently on Sunday and even on Christmas Day and they were still functioning. Yes you could have a comprehensive 24/7 service but not without paying a substantial amount more for staffing etc. Which would mean a tax increase would you be willing to pay?

trisher I think you misunderstood my meaning, the franchises were closed because the hospital was effectively closed. That was my point. I don't think there needs to be a huge investment to run the NHS 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The infrastructure is already there, it is just a matter of utilising it effectively.

Recently when waiting for DH's procedure I started chatting with a nurse who had just retired. She said the NHS is in a terrible state, disorganised and badly run. She said there was no shortage of money, it was just spent badly. Someone has said they saw a programme where the person buying in services shopped around and saved money. Surely that is their job? Why is is noteworthy? In the private sector it would be expected that anyone in purchasing got the best deal for the company.

As long as I'm treated how I expect to be treated both personally and medically that's fine by me.
The waste comes in when many drunks make a mess in an ambulance which can't then be used until it's cleaned so why not a £10 charge to the drunk ? A taxi charges extra if a person has been sick !

When I used to take my 91 year old father for hospital appointments the doctors and nurses that we saw had such poor English that I actually had to translate what they had said to my father as he couldn’t understand them. I then had to explain to them what he meant when he answered them. This happening at about 90% of visits. No one seemed to bother about a family member translating then!

What about the fact that there are few courses available teaching English to new residents maddyone. That even teaching English to immigrant children has been cut and schools struggle to manage. I bet Denmark has courses.

Grandtante, that sounds a very fair system to me, and I can see no earthly reason why we in the UK should not adopt such a system. But we won’t, there are probably many reasons why we won’t adopt such a system, and I and others most likely wouldn’t agree with any of them, but there it is!

NotTooOld no Departments don't talk to each other. Last year I had to go for an Ultra Sound at one Hospital & an Appointment to see the Consultant (who needed the results) on the same day at the same time at a different Hospital

I agree interpreters should be used due to possible embarrassment & to avoid misunderstanding medical terms.