NHS

The new Norfolk and Norwich Hospital was built by PFI in 2001. Conceived by New Labour it was the first to be built under PFI so being a bit of a trial run and civil servants being the innocents they are, the agreement was bad. Really, really bad and they've now repaid enough for several more hospitals. It was also built with many fewer beds than the old Victorian pile it replaced, the reasoning being that Care in the Community would take over - and obviously the population wouldn't grow any more, would it! I don't blame any government or MPs for the inefficient way it was handled, or Brexit, or anything else. It happened and we've got a lovely, well designed, new (albeit much too small) hospital which we wouldn't otherwise have had. But I do blame the civil servants who should have known better. Should we outsource the whole Civil Service?

It's interesting (!) isn't it, that many of the public buildings dating from Victorian and Edwardian times are still standing and in good order. The contrast with those built in the 70's that are now crumbling and need to be demolished rather than refurbished is stark.
It's the usual nonsense that you save a £1 this year but have to spend £20 before long to replace or repair the building you 'saved' on.
Hospitals are of course, central to this.

I totally agree Iam64 the brand new “state of the art” school I started in 1973 was knocked down years ago ( it wouldn’t have taken much) ditto several other 70’s botch ups . A lot of building corruption going on in the NE at that time .

I think the 70s must have been a low point for construction. I was surprised to hear that a large 70s building used by several public sector organisations was to be demolished, then I realised half the buildings in the same road were gone. Either something fishy is going on making it profitable to demolish and rebuild, or the buildings which were all built in the 70s were not built to last. Probably a bit of both, given all the concrete, glass and metal single glazed windows.

NFK We can see a doctor within a couple of hours..I call at 8.30 see the doctor anytime after 9 that suits me ..if its an emergency they tell me to go straight down .Sadly Labour deprived us of our A and E a number of years ago and we all know its harder to get something back than to keep it going so its been an ongoing battle with the Labour led Health Authority who have no interest in this area and prefer to spend their money in the city .

NFK. Yes, you can see a doctor really quickly. I use GP at hand, which is an NHS practice but most of the consultations are done via Skype, with a face to face when needed.
I think it's miles better. Sometimes it's immediate, sometimes a wait of about an hour. 24/7 too, which I think is excellent.
It's just a different way (better imo) of offering a GP service.

Wow! That’s amazing! Can we all move to London!

It's as NHS as Virgin Care.

www.babylonhealth.com/our-mission/

Set up by Ali Parsa. Remember the name?
He was the first to set up a private hospital, Hinchingbrooke,
which was run by Circle. It had to withdraw from the franchise.

www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/new_reports/AAAG6526.pdf

This is babylon's CQC inspection.

"Parsa launched Babylon, a mobile healthcare app, in April 2014.[3] Babylon is a subscription health service provider that enables users to have virtual consultations with doctors and health care professionals via text and video messaging through its mobile application.[4]

Parsa is an advocate of more private-sector involvement in the NHS, believing it improves efficiency, profitability and quality of healthcare.[5] He claims that Babylon " is the beginning of the end for the old-fashioned way we use healthcare" and that within a few years computers will perform better than doctors at making diagnoses.[6]

He was named by the Times among the 100 global people to watch in 2012, and by Health Service Journal among the 50 most influential people in UK healthcare. He was the UK Cabinet Office Ambassador for Mutuals.[1]"

Wiki.

I saw a good thing in hospital today:
A greengrocer in the foyer!

Sorry to take so long coming back(very busy and stressful day! ). The ad. I saw on the tube said N.h.s. It mentioned see a Dr within 24 hours, but I did think it was probably largely via phone or Skype. Couldn't see any small print from where I was sitting!
D.S. reckons that the numbers of older people will decline over the next 20 years, so the pressure on the system should slowly decline (not much use for most of us!) And of course we shall have the effects of greater use of A.I. to factor in. Don't u just hate it when the youngsters have all the answers!!!

Did you not mention to your son that as we die off, he grows older?

A result of the health and social care act is that private companies are allowed to use the NHS logo. Virgin uses it all the time.

Just seen the percentage rise in demand. No wonder the NHS can’t cope.

Two things happening at the same time, Nfk, demand going up and beds and numbers of staff going down.
That's the perfect storm.
No way was the NHS prepared for this, as May and Hunt claimed.

Jen, you do realise that many GPs are not directly employed by the NHS don't you?
It would be more historically correct to say Virgin Care are as NHS as a GP.

What rubbish, primrose.
Try having a look on Virgin Care's website.

private.virgincare.co.uk/private-gp

£55 for an appointment with a GP.

D.J. He does not think he will make old bones ! And quite apart from his many narrow escapes and his medical problem, I believe that his age group are not forecast to live much past their mid seventies.

My husband died at 65, Morgana, but his mum lived to 95.

It's difficult to say how much the NHS pays per appointment on average, as GPs are paid per patient, I believe, whether they see their GP or not. But they are paid by the NHS, some are salaried now, but most are not.
Comparing private services offered by Virgin is not the same as them contracting to the NHS - like GPs do.

I don't have a problem with this at all - GPs have always worked this way. Doesn't matter to me if a GP works in a surgery that looks like a house or in a building that has 'Virgin Care' stamped onto every wall or is Skyping me from their living room. They're still my GP and the service is paid for by the NHS in the same way.

Jen, you do realise that many GPs are not directly employed by the NHS don't you?
It would be more historically correct to say Virgin Care are as NHS as a GP.

It is complex but GPs are contracted by the NHS and paid by the NHS to provide services. I don't believe Virgin Care has the same contract. I am not sure the fact that they are not directly contracted is that relevant - although I appreciate it is to you though.

I am not sure we will be any the wiser after reading this but it does explain (?) how it works.

Primrose, they don't have Virgincare stamped all over the surgery. That's one problem.
They have the NHS logo, but take the money out of the NHS and take profits overseas so they don't pay tax on them.
Obviously you don't live in the same world as me if you don't mind paying £55 to jump the queue, which is what you are doing if you go to see a GP privately.

People on Question Time agree with me about Virgin.
Andy Burnham brilliant on it. If you know anyone wanting to be a nurse, tell them to go and train in Manchester.