Valuing the NHS

The people who miss their appointments are no doubt the ones that moan when the go run late and they have to wait. Perhaps we should charge patients for missing their appointments but they would also moan at that too

When the flu jab guarantees that you won't get flu. When a mammogram is certain to detect breast cancer, smear tests guaranteed to detect cervical cancer and bowel screening can definitively show that you don't have bowel cancer, then, and only then will I accept the tests offered.
Up to now, I have always politely declined.
I read of too many recalls due to faulty results, to place my faith in any of it.

Hollydoilly10 a mammogram gave my dear Mother an extra 15 years with us. Her oncologist said she would never have felt her tumour manually.

It is irresponsible to ignore health tests.

Sometimes missed appointments cannot be helped. I returned from work one day to find a letter for an out patient appointment, unfortunately it had been for that morning, so having arrived after I went to work impossible to attend. Another friend received an appointment for the previous day!! NHS have my email and mobile number, so could have been contacted that way but no attempt made.

I agree that is wrong to simply not attend, Did they say that was normal Kitty? If they had come to expect that then perhaps they should arrange more appointments to allow for it? That's what airlines used to do because people used to not turn up.

I was late for my last mammogram and they had gone to lunch. I waited and apologised profusely explaining I had misread the time. They were very harsh with me and wouldn't consider fitting me in or even letting me wait to see if someone didn't turn up. Yes, it was my fault but if they expect no shows perhaps they could have been kinder.

We have a friend who simply binned the bowel cancer screening kit. When they sent it again his wife insisted he used it and it transpired he had cancer. I do think the NHS waste money by writing to tell us they are going to write to us with the bowel screening. I understand the first time they might want to prepare you but if you did it the first time why do they need to do the same the second time. I believe the NHS could save a lot by small savings.

Simple Kittylester...start fining people who don’t turn up for thier appointments. How easy is it to pick up a phone and let somebody else have these valuable slots. It’s a disgrace...I had to wait 3 weeks for an appointment recently......and I suspect that people make these appointments just in-case they are ill ( I knew someone who did this) and when they don’t need it ...just forget it out of hand!! The next time they have an appointment the system could ‘red flag’ them , and they should be reminded they owe the surgery £5/£10 ..whatever it takes to stop these valuable appointments being wasted!!

I wouldn’t have a mammogram if you paid me. To have your boobs painfully squeezed and then zapped with radiation 1000 times stronger than a chest x-ray is asking for trouble.
It causes a lot of cancers. There are other ways best is medical thermography

Such a waste of time and money. I work in bowel screening and can truly say we, the staff, would far rather know if someone is not going to turn up - so we can plan our work load / day. We are not there to try to change someone’s mind.

Flu jabs are toxic and only 2to 4% effective So a big load on the liver with Mercury Aluminium and Formaldehyde and also animal by products.
Poo sticks can lead to colonoscopy using Moviprep laced with sweeteners and again poisonous to the system. I have personal experience of this and will never knowingly allow sweeteners in my system ever again. Ask why if interested.
So I don’t think it’s irresponsible.
Mammograms can lead to cancer there are other ways now to check without the dangers. Switzerland doesn’t use mammograms any more.
You can have ultrasound MRI. or medical thermography whic is best catches problems earlier and is entirely safe.
We are frightened into using conventional medical procedures without knowing we have choices to be responsibly healthily

Teetime, please see your GP with your symptoms. It could be serious and easily sorted. I have had the same symptoms and now reluctantly take meds but they are better than the alternative. It may be nothing in your case but please don't risk it.

My cousin has just had part of her bowel removed because she did not use the bowel cancer testing kit sent to her. It would have picked up on the early stages and she could have avoided the surgery, chemo and radio therapy she is now going
through. It is so simple to do as well.

Miamax5 I did ring the first couple of years that I didn't want to keep an appointment (I had one the first year) and once I got through and the person taking the call was quite brusque, almost as if I was wasting her time and the second time I had the same experience as you. I don't remember there being any other way to cancel but phone.
I think emailing appointment is a good idea for those who are online which is most people nowadays.

It’s so annoying, it’s the same with our dentist, they will strike you off if you miss 3 appointments.

I can't understand it either. They obviously don't care, do they? When my parents were young there was no NHS and patients didn't 'bother the doctor' unless it was serious.
I wonder if the NHS have ever done a survey of 'no-shows' to see if there is a common thread. If you don't go to some dentists for around 18 months I believe that you get dumped but the NHS can hardly do that, can they?

Having a congenital disability and now being confined to a wheelchair I have been in and out of hospital all my life and the way people treat the NHS these days disgusts me. I don’t think enough is done to educate the public as to what a wonderful thing the NHS is. Those people who have never had much reason to use the NHS don’t realise what a unique and valuable service we all have at our disposal - until they have cause to need it and then a lot of the time they treat it with a careless sense of entitlement. Missed appointments cost the service a fortune which is reflected in the amount of text and phone reminders we’re flooded with these days. In addition just the need to display zero tolerance notices regarding abuse of NHS staff in hospital and surgery waiting rooms is a sad reflection on our society and one that should make us all ashamed. I also find it appalling that ambulance chasing solicitors are allowed to advertise in hospitals. I have a theory which you may or may not agree with. I’m willing to bet that abuse of NHS staff has got worse since the advent of medical soap operas on TV. This rubbish often depicts patients talking to consultants and other staff with a total lack of respect, and frequently shows the most appalling behaviour. I think this carries at least some of the blame for people’s unrealistic expectations and subsequent abuse of the system. I sometimes watch some of the scenarios depicted open mouthed, because I know from experience that these things just don’t happen in real life. The danger is, that those people without much experience in this area see this as ordinary and acceptable. I also think the shows are partly to blame for people taking legal action against the NHS - they see storylines where patients threaten to sue for the flimsiest of reasons and think it’s the norm for making a few bob. Don’t misunderstand me - where negligence is proved then legal redress should be available but doctors are not infallible - they don’t know everything and I think our expectations seem to be getting more and more unrealistic, along with a sense of entitlement to monetary recompense. Again, this is a matter of personal responsibility. If you can foresee a problem why wait until it becomes a crisis ? Surely it’s better to sort it out before someone suffers, rather than wait and then sue after the event. I could go on and on. Someone mentioned increased NI contributions - all well and good but the NHS also has it’s in house problems with waste to sort out before that can happen. I’m old school and old enough to remember when the NHS was run by the medical profession. It worked much better and in my opinion medical staff and equipment are more important than clipboard carrying managers - especially in times of austerity.

I must admit it is hospital appointments that suffer most in the evemt of a no show. I had an 11.00 am appointment on a Sunday. Clinic started at 9.0. They called me at 9.20 and asked if i could go earlier......all appointments had cancelled. So they had consultant there with noone to see. I also went for a mammogram and they said there were always many bo shows. I think if people are ill or in pain then they go. But for preventative check ups they dismiss the importance and fail to cancel. Maybe we should trial an invite to make an appointment,with a refundable fee in these instances first. If it works, then roll it out across the board. Another option could be if you miss an appointment then you must pay for the next one.

I have just answered a text from the hospital asking me to confirm my attendance next week.There is a number in cluded in the text to re arrange appointment if necessary also one to cancel if appointmnet no longer required.How much easier can they make it!! My Gp surgery has a menu which answers when you ring and this includes pressing button number 5 a automatic voice then asks you to give your name and details of appointment you wish to cancel, you dont need to speak to a human to cancel. People i fear are just to lazy half the time to be proactive.

Abroad is a very wide concept. In Denmark we do not have to pay for any of the tests mentioned in this thread. All notifications are sent over the internet and contain a link where you can change the time of the appointment or say you don't want the test.

You would think people could manage to send an e-mail, won't you, but no, here too a lot of people just don't bother.

Teetime
Referring to your post a page back - if you have dizziness and palpitations, you need to see your GP fairly soon.
It could be due to something mild, but it could also be a symptom of a cardiac arrhythmia. That’s serious if left untreated!

Hi Apegirl - I don't mean to collect a fee after a no show.

I was suggesting a charge up front when you first book an appointment. Pay by card over phone. When you make the appointment, the charge is refunded. If no show, the NHS keep the money.

I realise it's a lot of work, and a cost to the person initially , but we are lucky to have the NHS. We should respect it or lose it. Some private clinics do this.

I have an upcoming appt next month for a mammogram which I can’t make. I have tried ringing the number on my letter but no one answering. I shall continue to try to get through but I can see why there end up being missed appts!

" Targets " is a word I never thought I'd ever see concerning a hospital. In the world of selling,yes, but not in an establishment where you have hundreds/thousands who are going into A&E with varying illnesses and injuries, each one being different and so affording individual treatments etc, meaning that each member of staff is " timed " on their efforts in getting patients attended to as quickly ? as possible to meet a certain target in clearing queues and backlogs.
This is highly impossible and totally unfair !
How would any of us feel being part of a target ? Being rushed through your symptoms ? The way GP surgeries are conducted with 7min per patient ? Which is why many go to A&E to get a proper diagnosis resulting in a very long wait.

The government has interfered with far too many areas of our vital heritages-----schools, hospitals, transport, businesses and the results of their interference has shown.
We used to be the best in the world !! No thanks to them we no longer are.

It isn’t just the NHS who have No Shows. Anything that is free at point of use may be abused.
At CAB we had three out of four No Shows for yesterday afternoon’s appointments, yet other people are not able to get the appointments they need within a short timescale.
It is just wrong, totally inconsiderate and selfish.

I agree. Our dental surgery will write to you if you miss 3 appointments, and advise that you will be removed from the NHS list. Maybe doctor surgeries should do the same.

I agree with you, seacliff, but if they don’t show up, who’s going to call on them to collect the fee?

There must be a way of making people more responsible. I hate the way the NHS is abused.