NHS

metro.co.uk/2018/02/18/disabled-woman-left-die-council-cut-18-care-services-7322427/

This is awful. It shouldn't have been allowed.
Someone should be held to account for this. In fact it must be criminal.

www.parliament.uk/edm/2017-19/660

Still only 150 MPs signed this. Has yours?

chpi.org.uk/blog/fake-news-nhs/

Misuse of statistics in the NHS.

Proof that privatisation of the NHS does not work, and should not be considered.

in early 2015, Serco walked away from a contract for GP ‘out of hours’ services in Cornwall after criticism of its service by the Commons Public Accounts Committee, which said Serco’s out-of-hours service was “not good enough” and that the company had struggled to ensure enough staff were available
in 2016, Virgin Care closed a popular medical centre in West Oxfordshire. Virgin Care’s contract had expired and when the company decided not to rebid, no alternative could be found. 4,400 patients had to find treatment elsewhere. Patients were left in tears when the closure was announced
also in 2016, a Cambridge £800m end of life contract run by UnitingCare Partnership collapsed after 8 months, after the consortium ran into difficulties (evidence)
in 2015, A £1bn NHS contract to run Hinchingbrooke Hospital collapsed after private firm Circle failed to make it financially viable and withdrew from the contract. A neighbouring NHS Trust had to step in and form a new, larger trust to take over the running of the hospital
in 2014, Care UK announced that it was exiting its contract to run a GP Practice in Newcastle early. The decision put the care of 7,000 patients at risk. The contract should have run until August last year
in 2014, Serco ended its contract to run Braintree Hospital early because it wasn’t making enough money for the company
in 2014, Care UK agreed to end a contract to run two care homes in Norfolk after concerns were raised over standards failures, including missed homecare visits (evidence)
in 2016, Interserve’s £300m contract to run cleaning, catering and maintenance services for the NHS in Leicester was scrapped 4 years early after serious concerns over standards of cleanliness
in 2017, Primecare ended its NHS 111 and out of hours contract barely a year into a three-year contract after a ‘damning inspection‘
in 2017, Nottingham University Hospitals cancelled a £200m NHS contract with Carillion after allegations of ‘filthy‘ wards

publicmatters.org.uk/category/blog/

About stopping the STPs, etc.

"A&E performance in the NHS is the worst it has been since records began - on a number of key indicators. Yet demand fell compared to the previous month.

An A&E that is struggling more than ever - in spite of lower demand - is a sign of an NHS in collapse because of persistent under-resourcing by a Tory government that has slashed the rate of NHS funding increases to a fraction of the historical norm.

No wonder the Tories have decided to stop measuring it for over a year - a tactic the Tories have used before when reports and statistics expose the damage their policies are causing - assuming they even restart in April 2019 when they have said they will.

The 'safe in our hands' promise that got the Tories into power in 2010 now looks like a sick joke - a 'joke' that is costing lives and inflicting misery on thousands of people waiting at A&E and on the tens of thousands who have had to wait in pain and fear because their planned operations have been cancelled."

So there were fewer people going to A&E in January, they cancelled 50,000 appointments to allow for it being worse, yet only 77% of people being seen within 4 hours.

No wonder they want to cancel collection of statistics for over a year.

www.24housing.co.uk/news/housing-services-should-be-the-equal-of-health-and-social-care/

This sounds like an extremely good idea to me.

MOnica, I accept trying to get someone to eat when they will not is a battle lost. But reading the statement by the director of AgeU.K. This was not the only reason, the elderly who find shopping difficult, who develop depression from lonliness .

I am not saying more is needed from the NHS and for the NHS but I see such a change in communities , old people are not respected as they once were

I guess the underlying question is does the NHS need more money or can it use the money it has more efficiently? It is such a large organisation although to be truthful it is not really national it is regional. So each region has its own managers, hr, etc. There is obviously a lot of duplication so it could be more efficient with a reduction in management but thats not going to happen - turkeys and Christmas and all that.

''We trained hard—but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams we were reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing, and what a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while actually producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralisation''
Petronius Arbiter

The NHS keep changing the goal posts. Continually bringing in new initiatives, new IT systems, reorganising management while seemingly missing the point that it should all be about the patient and patient care.

Annie, it is very difficult to get someone to eat when they do not want to.

I was caring for an elderly relative who I knew was not eating properly and doing everything I could to coax him to eat, even leaving a cake he liked cut into slices on the side beside the teapot, he drank a lot of tea. When there I would serve regular cups of tea with 2 small biscuits or slices of banana to get him to eat. On occasion he would, but usually he didn't. I lived a distance away but his home help would try to monitor what he was eating and ring me and let me know, but nothing I or his help did, could get him to eat and in the end he had to be admitted to hospital.

I also looked after another relation with dementia. His carers would prepare his lunch, but he wouldn't eat it. I would prepare tea, but he wouldn't eat that either. On his own he sometimes ate a bowl of cornflakes. Fortunately we were able to get him into care with his wife before he became too undernourished.

If many elderly people are malnourished when admitted to hospital what does this say about our communities and they cannot all be without families

The Lib Dems have brought out a report in the last few days.

One of their suggestions is that those working past retirement age continue to pay NI. I would go further and say that all retired people should continue to pay NI, except those whose income level is at Pension Credit level or just above.

In fact, ideally, I would get rid of all the bells and whistles, older people get, including free prescriptions. If you need a lot of medications, a prescription prepayment certificate cost £104 a year, £2 a week, to cover all prescriptions for a year. and increase the Pension Credit level to ensure those on the lowest incomes are not out of pocket. Paying NI and for prescriptions should bring in significant extra money for the NHS and older people could no longer be described as a 'burden' on the NHS as we would still be contributing to the system.

I'd like Norman Lamb to be involved.

reorganisation! I'm off now.

PS I'm not saying the NHS doesn't need more money as well as reorganistation, by the way. It obviously needs both those things.

That's right, of course, the NHS needs a complete rethink to make it fit for current needs. Who would be best to do that? I remember a TV prog some time ago where a chap called Robinson, I think he was originally to do with Robinson's TV rental company but anyway, a businessman and philanthropist. He went into hospitals to observe what was going on and came up with many ways in which the NHS could be more efficient. One of them was to use operating theatres at weekends, which they weren't in those days, and I know this is now done. There were lots of other ideas, too.

I've been musing on changes since the introduction of the nhs and it occurred to me that my nan's neighbours didn't have electric lights when it first came into being.

SiL's dad used to plug himself into the mains at night!

Food and ‘general care’ are very important in hospital but have been taking ‘a back seat’ for years (easily 20 years) from my observation.

Good posts kitty?and I completely agree.

ww, they are actually following me!!

I've said that on countless threads since joining GN. It seems obvious to me. DH worked for the NHS for over 50 years and it has been on the cards for years that a crisis was on it's way.

It is unfair on all the hardworking people in the NHS that the cracks are just papered over rather than someone thinking about how it should be NOW.

Since it's inauguration we have seen countless changes in medical science, family circumstances, longevity etc etc. It is entirely sensible that it is rethought totally.

When the NHS started my Nan's neighbours used to go and get cotton wool and aspirins on prescription. Last year, my lovely SiL's father was walking around with over £100K's worth of equipment keeping his heart going. The 2 things do not equate.

And, you can't blame the Tories or Labour (before this gets political ) as neither party have been prepared to say we need to stop, rethink and start again.

Better stop -my BP is going up!

I love the NHS and the people working in it are doing such a wonderful job. I don't think that people should have to buy their own food. I do think that the food provided in hospital isn't what it should be and hospitals are working with outdated methods and practices. The problem is that any such change would require a massive investment, although it would pay for itself eventually in both costs and health outcomes, no one has the cash to do it. So the hospitals struggle along using what they have whilst other organisations introduce more and more hi-tech ways of providing food.
If there was proper funding and hospitals were not having to try and juggle budgets, sometimes robbing Peter to pay Paul, then the NHS would be fine. It could be funded if all the tax loopholes were shut and companies had to pay properly.

Good morning folks. The question I asked was about the financing of the NHS as a whole and some how the thread has drifted onto hospital meals. When I was in hospital recently I witnessed quite a lot of inefficiencies one of these was the daily menu which was on a printed card which was the same one every day and the meals reheated frozen ones.
When working abroad in eastern Europe behind the iron curtain one of my team was hospitalised and there was no food was provided and unfortunately we did not know this and when we did we had to take in turns leaving the job to visit the poor fellow to ensure he was fed. This was not a good experience for him or us in how to get the sick back to health.

I presume you are aware that some elderly people come out hospital more malnourished than when they went in.

I wasn't, dj. Where is that from?

I can't help thinking when people are in hospital they should buy their own food.

2 things:

When I worked in hospital catering in the 1970s the amount of money we got per patient was unbelievably minute. I'm wondering if the now privatised 'hotel services' are actually costing more than doing it 'in house' did.

One of the ward sisters remarked to me that the food was an important part of a patient's treatment. Which, if you think about it, is largely true. We had to ensure that patients were offered a balanced and nourishing diet; I'm not sure what 'buying your own' would result in. Unless, of course, you're thinking of presenting patients with a bill at the end of their stay?

When it comes down to it, we could easily afford to finance our health service properly; it's just a question of priorities. We've managed to 'find' £400+ billion for Quantative Easing since 2008; the NHS could have thrived on a fraction of that...