Huge "efficiency savings" - or are they maybe "cuts" to NHS

Jess I heard the Chief Exec of Kingston Hospital Trust on the radio at lunch time, saying she had already cut staff and if she had to cut any more, it would probably impact on quality and patient care.
The problem for the NHS are that most of its costs are staff-related, and so it's difficult to make savings without detrimental effects, although Norman Lamb the came on saying that 'different ways of working' could reduce the number of people, especially elderly, admitted to hospital

It seems to me that there are two potential sources of income for the NHS.

The first is what it is given by the government. I think we have got used to the idea now that this is not limitless.

The second is how the NHS, and individual trusts, can make money for themselves.
An example of this is the Laserase Clinic at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital. It exists within an NHS Hospital, and is providing bnothe NHS and private treatment.

I realise that this idea of NHS and private services being integrated and actually working together will be anathema to some, but it seems to me that the NHS could gain a lot if this sort of thing were more widespread., and NHS and private services more integrated.

The NHS was told to come up with income generating ideas way back when I was in it. Charging for hospital car parking and high-priced phone services for patients are two notable examples that date from that initiative and one hospital I know used their car park for a car boot sale every weekend.
My friend who died in hospital recently after a very long stay in the oncology ward was charged £4.50 a day to watch a tiny TV.
Newer hospitals included food/shop courts where the units are rented out to a range of businesses (e.g. Addenbrooks). Even old made-over hospitals like Wolverhampton rent a unit out to Greggs. How much further can this be pushed?
NHS managers are much maligned but they have a huge and responsible job to do, which arguably should not include having to set up and run small cosmetic surgery businesses etc.

Jess I don't in the least support hospitals charging exorbitant amounts for car parking and watching television - that's exploitation.
Hospital Chief Executives wouldn't have to set up and run small cosmetic clinics any more than they run NHS Dermatology clinics.
But they are paid a great deal of taxpayers' money to do their jobs, and all I am saying is that if the money they are allocated to spend is being reduced, it's not unreasonable to ask them to put their thinking caps on and think of some ways to ethically generate some income.

I might be missing something here but we all have to pay for our own food at home so how about a nominal daily charge for food for example £2 -£3 I am sure that there will be some exemptions to this but surely that would provide some much needed funding.

They could make 'cuts' to management bonuses...

home.bt.com/news/uknews/nhs-bosses-got-166m-in-bonuses-11363902677206

Lindalady, I SO agree with you! I have wondered about this for years.
The only other place which provides free food for inmates is prison!
We should have to pay for 'hotel services' in hospital; the money this costs the NHS could be put towards better medical care, more staff etc.

Those bonuses sound bad, but they are only talking about £3-6000+ per person. I wish the bankers only gave themselves bonuses of that size.

nhap.org/80-of-people-in-britain-think-the-nhs-should-be-protected-from-funding-cuts/

I really do not think that services can be pared down any more than they already are - see my thread about poor post-operative care. People's bums barely hit the bed and they are out, coping with pain and surgical drains by themselves.

There must be other ways of cost-cutting. There is huge wastage of stuff of one kind or another; and some cheating and pilfering (or worse) by staff. The NHS is held to ransom by drugs companies charging exorbitant amounts for their products; and by equipment companies with monopolies.

The government needs to get into negotiations with these companies and take a firmer line - a huge source of their income is the NHS and the piper needs to start calling the tune a bit more.

So much worries me these days about our NHS and emergency services, and the cuts they are having to cope with. Whatever the rights and wrongs, whether savings could be made without impacting on the system or not, the fact is that frontline staff and endline users are bearing the brunt. When I hear of a mere handful of police officers having to stretch themselves across a major city overnight, of ambulances taking an hour and a half to arrive, of patients being discharged as soon as their bums hit the bed, as Mishap says, I wonder just how far these "efficiency savings" can go. In my experience the majority of public sector workers are in the job because they want to make a positive difference, and it's distressing to see them now getting the blame from the public for delays and frankly unacceptable service brought about by budgets being cut and management decisions that are not of their making.

When I was in hospital over a year ago, the food was almost inedible. There is no way that I would have paid to eat that rubbish. They would have to up their game and the problem there is that hospital kitchens have been dispensed with and it is now the cook/chill option.

Good point Charley girl. Also, I've several times had close family members in hospital - any savings on the food budget were more than eaten up in petrol and car parking costs and taking in extra edible food for them plus other treats like a newspaper or magazine.