To be annoyed by obvious waste by nhs

Here in Denmark people will have to pay for an interpreter if they have lived three years in the country and still do not speak Danish well enough to understand hospital staff.

The risks of using an interpreter who is not specifically a medical interpreter are far too grave. Professional interpreters specialise in medical or legal terminology and are assigned work in accordance with their speciality.

Sarahhelenwhitney
"envied by the rest of the world"? Not where we live it isn't. In fact, when our neighbours hear about what is going on in the NHS, they sadly shake their heads. And one of them works in the CHUV = university hospital of Lausanne across the water, so knows what he is sadly shaking his head about.

My gripe about NHS waste is to do with the two zimmer frames and one pair of crutches that I was given when I fractured my pelvis. I tried to give them back but the local NHS trust does not want them. I have approached loca MP who has sent me, today, a statement that the national H.S. wants things to be reused.

I don't have any trouble in understanding any language. It's our own which can be more confusing at times hahahaha.

Exactly the same conditions apply 4allweknow yes you coud have a system where operating theatres functioned for 24 hours a day, but it would take a massive investment not only in theatre staff but in surgeons and all the cleaning and servicing staff that enable the system to work. And arguably by insisting your husband stayed in a bed and was treated as he was you caused one of the people who had had their pre-op appointment to have their operation cancelled. But of course it wasn't your fault. It was the fault of the surgeon who over ran (possibly because an operaton proved much more complicated than anticipated) and the theatre staff who (how dare they) expected to finish their hard working day at 5pm.

After a recent hospital experience I could have done with an interpreter to understand what the foreign doctor was telling me!

I was watching a programme last night about workings behind the scenes at a NHS Hospital.
The Staff where amazing at the amount they saved the NHS .
They are unsung hero's imo,one lady incharge of ordering items found a way of ordering from a differant supplier and saved thousands on the yearly cost of items,its worth watching.
Sorry for going off topic ladies.

Waste in NHS, DH was in hospital for very detailed pre-op tests. Day of op had his sedation, basically fell asleep, next he knew back in ward with no surgery. The consultant was livid op had to be cancelled. Why, another surgeon was over running and the theatre staff finished work at 5 pm. No staff to assist DH surgeon as he would definitely not finish by then. DH stayed in hospital for a further 3 days, new tests undertaken for op again. Surgery was carried out on 4th day and I am sure this was only due to me insisting I met with Chief Exec, Head of Surgery and Nursing and that DH stayed to save his bed. There is horrendous waste and frustration within the system not just interpreting services.

Trisher . We in the UK have a health service envied by the rest of the world and yet we have in our midst those for who enough will never be enough.

NotTogOld.In that case it must differ from area to area as I was given a date for my HR operation and pre op assessment at the same time It was to be three weeks before the op.

Do people really not undertand how operations and hospitals work? (And it's nothing to do with any of the staff talking to any of the other staff). For non-urgent operations theatre time is assigned and a pre-op arranged at a time which is considered achievable. However theatre time can never be certainly assigned because there may be a number of urgent and vital operations on that day or close to the appointment which take precedent. It may be uncomfortable and distressing to have to go through the whole procedure more than once but the only way to prevent that would be to have a huge investment in the NHS which built more operating theatres. Then there would probably be an out cry because theatres were sometimes standing empty.
Cafes, Smiths etc in hospitals are franchises and pay money into the NHS but are not part of it. If they choose not to open it is entirely their own decision.

Some years ago I had to go to the passport office in Petty France. I had to hang around for quite a while so had plenty of time to see what was going on. There were several people applying for British passports who had interpreters which made me think that they were not as British as they might have been. Surely it is reasonable to expect anyone British to speak the language? I have no idea who was paying for the interpreters but they didn't look like family members, different racial origin.

Mabel2
Who wore the NHS badges? The families? You don't make it clear.
The hospital has to have impartial interpreters so that the information passed back and forth is absolutely clear, otherwise, if misunderstandings occur, the hospital could be sued.

I worked for the NHS for 10 years and all the interpreters were volunteers, the badge is necessary to make them ‘official’

NotTooOld that happened to DH, 3 times before he had his operation. He also had to go twice each time, once for the checks and a different day for a blood test. They seemed to think this was reasonable even though the journey took 1 1/2 hours and his appointment was at 0830. They were not at all interested in suggestions of ways to improve this situation. One one occasion they sent a letter giving him an appointment on a bank holiday followed by a letter changing the appointment 'due to unforeseen circumstances'.

I can think of several other ways they waste money. A fully qualified nurse calling people into eye consultation but not being part of the consultation, just the messenger. I had a small growth in my mouth and was referred by my dentist. I was seen by a doctor and a nurse who confirmed that my dentist was correct, I had a growth. I had to return to have it removed (took 3 people) and asked why it needed two appointments. The answer was because the dentist may think it is a different size to the doctor! So did this third person agree or disagree and, more to the point, what difference did it make as the treatment was the same? When DH had a suspicious mole the hospital doctor removed it straight away which makes far more sense.

Why do expensive hospitals virtually close down at the weekend? DH needed an investigation and the hospital was doing Sunday appointments in an effort to reduce waiting times which was of course good. However, everything else was closed, the cafe, staff cafe, Smiths etc. Surely there would be plenty of people willing to work weekends to fit around family?

I agree with you Crystaltips.

My daughter had her 1st ante natal appointment at a large London hospital, she had left work to attend.
After waiting an hour nothing happening she demanded to know why, she was informed that they were waiting for a Somalian interpreter and couldn’t risk seeing other people until he/she arrived. Apparently if they have to wait they leave!!!

It has something to do with confidentiality...There will be times when it can only be the Dr & patient and so an interpreter is required and also as someone has said the famiky may not fully interpret what is being said due to them possibly believing it will be too upsetting

Not really related to the op, sorry! It just brought back memories!

When our son was seriously ill in hospital in Japan there was no interpreter to be found anywhere. Luckily, on one of our visits we met a Japanese lady, in the lift, who arrange to come with us when we saw the consultants.

I lived in Turkey for some years and all the hospitals provided interpreters, however, they were all private hospitals so they were paid for. Surely the same criteria should apply here, if the patient is entitled to free NHS care then that should include the use of a translator but if the patient is being charged for the use of our NHS then they should pay for the interpreter too.

But the case I was talking about is where the only interpreter of a language was prosecuted - and demanded an interpreter! The system does get abused by certain people. Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have any interpreters, but maybe we should be more careful about whether they are all necessary. Does it help integration when the council prints a leaflet about bin collection in 20 different languages? Does it encourage English speaking? I’ve no problem with people speaking their mother tongue but surely use of English in public services should be encouraged?

I used to work in a city hospital that had to use interpreters fairly frequently. Family members don’t always translate what is asked, particularly where the matter is deeply personal, and younger family members often hedge round the issue when interpreting for older relatives due to embarrassment. This can affect diagnosis and treatment. Yes, it is expensive, but the patient needs the correct care.

My experience in French hospitals is that there are English speakers who interpret, ( no charge). The same in Spain.

The Courts, other public services, including the NHS do provide interpreters where necessary. I'd say if a person speaks "an obscure African tribal language" they definitely need an interpreter.
The fact that some people are criminally inclined isn't a surprise to any of us. Yes, they will be prosecuted if they're found out. Doesn't matter what their race, culture or creed may be, criminals will be criminal.