NHS

I worked for a large county council, our department was the favourite one for cuts.
A whole layer of admin was removed, I promise you, it made no discernible difference at all to the level of service given. It saved a lot of money though.

I did work in the NHS!

The bottom line here is that only those who have worked in the NHS see the mess it is in first hand and it is beyond belief.

I worked in the private sector my entire working life.

If you want scare stories about dubious practices over redundancy, nepotism and wastage of funds, we'd better start another thread.

Except I might get sued

QED

I doubt only 14% is spent on management when you see the salaries some of them are on and as has been stated, assistants to assistants. It wouldn’t be a consideration in the private sector. Also it’s not the canteen staff that source the supplies for the hospital food, it is management.

Alegrias- well said!

Everyone I’ve ever known who’s worked for the NHS - from admin to surgeon - has complained about waste and too many managers.

IMO the other basic problem is the ‘free at the point of use’ bit.
People so often go on about how much better the care is in other European countries, while conveniently ignoring the fact that they so often pay something extra, over and above their usual taxation, and I include our national insurance in that.

In Sweden, for example (according to my Swedish friend) everybody (except perhaps children) pays a small amount for prescriptions, for visits to the GP and A&E, and for the ‘board’ element of hospital stays. All small amounts, but of course they add up.
There is an annual cap for anyone who needs a lot of prescriptions.

I doubt that any U.K. govt. of whatever colour would ever have the guts to introduce any such thing here, though. Better to have long waiting lists, never enough doctors or nurses, hospital beds, etc., rather than risk losing votes.

Free at the point of use is such a sacred cow here, regardless of whether it’s still fit for purpose, compared to the health service and the available treatments when the NHS was in its infancy.

No, I don't mean that at all Lincslass.

I mean people whose auntie's cousin's hairdresser once went into hospital and there was a person there called Doris who didn't seem to be very busy so obviously managers aren't worth anything.

The managers and admin staff are real people, they are posting here and trying to give their side of the story, and blanket statements about how they are worthless aren't fair. Are they?

Alegrias1

I'm sure that all the NHS management employees who have posted here are delighted to hear that random people off the Internet think they are a waste of money and don't deserve their salaries.

Random people, do you mean those of us who have worked in the NHS and have seen the top heavy management layers. Sorry, but if the Trusts are happy , as was the case, to make Nursing staff redundant, then managerial wastage should be looked at too. Let me tell you a true story. In one round of vicious cuts, in the 80s, a friend, left in charge of a day Ward with one auxiliary nurse, that was how they were known then, was approached by a manager, at 19.30 in the evening, and told she was going to be made redundant, as her post was going to be disbanded. Very distressed, she still had patients to discharge, she carried on. Next day with all guns blazing went to see the chief exec, she was assured that should never have happened, and because of lack of due process her role was maintained. One excellent Nurse, still working, who was deemed not worthy of proper notice by a Manager. Who got rightly sent on training courses in how to manage redundancy.

I'm sure that all the NHS management employees who have posted here are delighted to hear that random people off the Internet think they are a waste of money and don't deserve their salaries.

I absolutely agree with your sister. Too many management and not enough on the frontline, and the management are so fond of disposing of frontline staff. They treat frontline staff as if they were expendable, and the NHS management get the best salaries and pensions, and they sure as hell do not deserve it.

I agree with her £70k per annum for equality & diversity officers are a prime example!

The money wasted and the shortage of nurses are two things often quoted as being problems with the NHS. I too have up to 20 years experience in the NHS mainly admin, manager and support worker roles and can say this. The role of the nurse has changed and this hasn't been recognised in recruitment for instance all the paperwork they need to do can be taken over by admin. Or the non nursing personal tasks they do can be taken over by healthcare assistants.

However, if we're talking about cock ups, I can certainly join in there!!!

???
Found weeks later concealed in the bedside locker

cold and concealed eh? It never was, more's the pity! It was cold and congealed

Yes, I know all about inedible food in hospitals, I've experienced it and seen it plenty of times, but it really was great this time.

I sincerely hope that those stating lack of proper nutrition made complaints to the Hospital Trust involved
The poor food was way down the list of what I can only describe as cock-ups, Lincslass.

I sincerely hope that those stating lack of proper nutrition made complaints to the Hospital Trust involved. Otherwise how can we change things. Our local hospital Trust, turned out the pre chilled rubbish and reopened the hospital kitchen to home cooked food, plenty of local produce available. the domestic support staff were also brought back in house, much better for patients , and the locals who are employed in the trust, and not by a faceless company. Guess it must be cheaper too.

I was in hospital a couple of months ago, and the food was great!

Many years ago, DC1 was born in hospital - have you ever eaten a fried egg with thin greasy gravy on it, complete with globules of fat?
Me neither, I had to leave it!

When I was in a maternity home a couple of years later, the food was wonderful! Freshly cooked on site, however, that maternity home closed along with all the others.

What was that about nutrition aiding healing?
The nurses said they were embarrassed by the poor standard of nutrition offered to patients in our new hospital.

My friend's sister has just been discharged from hospital following an operation. She was desperate to get home so that she could have a decent meal. In the 4 nights that she was in, her evening meal was "forgotten or given to someone else by mistake" and their was only a sandwich or toast as a substitute; she was given a meal with meat and so couldn't eat it because she's a vegetarian and on the other nights, the food was cold and concealed by the time she got it. On the day of her discharge, they forgot her breakfast so she went home mid morning without. What was that about nutrition aiding healing?

I was in hospital a couple of months ago, and the food was great!
I'm a bit of a baby about gristle in meat, so I had a variety of veggie options, and the were excellent.
Fruit juice, veggie sausages, with wedges, broccoli and carrots was my favourite.
It was well cooked, hot, with salt and pepper to hand, and fruit, rice pud, jelly, cake and custard as some of the dessert choices.
No complaints from me at all.

How are people supposed to recover from illness or surgery without proper nutrition?
Just what we said recently.

When I was in hospital years ago, most of the food was inedible.
Nothing has changed, it seems.

Your sister is completely right to many chiefs and a massive amount of money wasted.
Why take unbrage with your sister over an opinion thats not worth the upset.