New hospitals anyone

Lets not forgot that it was Philip Hammond who nurtured any 'money tree' his former colleagues may now have.

NHS were advertising yesterday on the radio for nurses etc.

I don't think new staff will be needed for the "new" hospital which is going to be built in my area because existing staff will transfer - well, those of them who aren't EU citizens and have decided to return to their homeland.

I think you have a good point jaylucy. When I was recovering from my heart op, I was in a bay with three other ladies, but there was a bed missing. A lady was wheeled into the bay after a quadruple bypass op and had to stay on a trolley for hours before a patient in another part of the hospital was discharged. Even when a bed did turn up, it wasn't the usual hospital quality bed, but looked as though it had been bought from the bargain basement in IKEA.

I really wonder if hospital managers ever spend time on the wards, speaking to patients, to find out what's really going on.

It's the same with GP surgeries. Mine has a "good" rating and states that patients can get to see a doctor within two weeks on average - oh no, they can't. About 70% of appointments are taken up with people who queue up before 8am and demand a same day appointment. That's hopeless for anybody who works or has young children or wants a pre-booked appointment for a chronic illness or is worried about something, which could turn out to be very serious.

I agree no point in new hospitals if there are not enough staff. I also saw analysis of what he actually meant by 40+new hospitals. That isn't quite what it will be. At least not for a very long time. We need more staff now not the possibility of new hospitals in 10 years time

As far as staffing - I can remember a friend of mine , who was a nurse tutor, saying that she had been to a training conference (this was in the late 80s) and was told that due to the drop in birth rate, that there would be a problem getting enough student nurses to replace the ones that were due to retire by the year 2,000.
This, along with the cuts in financial support for the NHS meant that either students didn't complete the course or couldn't get a job once they had qualified, The training was then changed to a degree course, including having to get student loans, instead of being paid while in training.
Hospitals then went out, trawling Europe and Asia for qualified staff. Many of whom have now returned home due to the uncertainty of Brexit.
Government keeps either quoting millions for the NHS or chucking money at it, with no certainty that the money will actually be used for either medical staffing or patient services. Most of it is wasted - local hospital spent thousands redecorating the ground floor of the hospital - wards on upper floors have virtually see through privacy curtains , staff often have to "borrow" bed linen, towels, pillows etc from other wards - when a CQC inspection was done when I was an in patient, the curtains were all pushed back and the spare pillow I was given was whisked away and taken back to another ward as soon as the inspectors had gone !
That is before CEOs resign because they are not up to standard and get huge pay offs for doing a bad job!
No point in giving the NHS millions unless a close watch is kept on how it is spent , and putting the current medical staff first.

I don't have any hospitals within a 15/20 minute drive and I don't live in a very rural area. The one which is being rebuilt is 33 miles away and will have better transport links.

I had a heart attack two years ago and was taken to a hospital, where there was no public transport and is about 40 miles away. Admittedly, it's a world class centre for heart disease and I was treated well, but getting home was a nightmare. I don't have any close family or friends I could call on, but I was also told that transport couldn't be provided to take me home. I have no idea how much a taxi would have cost - it's money I would find very difficult to find. In the end, I discharged myself a day early (against medical advice) so that my daughter could travel 200 miles on a Sunday to take me home. Thank goodness that hospital has now been rebuilt (nothing to do with the Conservative government) in a more accessible location for public transport.

When I arrived home, I was told not to drive BUT there was no help available and even the GP (whom I was told to contact as soon as possible) wouldn't do a home visit and the first appointment I could get was five weeks later.

I wrote to my MP at the time because I was very upset and frightened, but I didn't even receive a reply. Now she's crowing about how much the government is putting into health because it's claiming responsibility for building a new hospital. Yep! I'm a tad annoyed.

You seem to have missed the point newnanny. The new hospital in my area was announced ages ago, but Johnson/Hancock have jumped on the bandwagon.

PS. I do think Johnson has had a fair few chances. He hoists himself with his own petard.

I for one won't look a gift horse in the mouth. If a new hospital is to be built surely some people will benefit. Oh I forgot. Boris has announced it, and many on Gransnet won't give Boris a chance.

It would be laughable if it wasn't so serious. Suddenly there is pots of money. Sajid Javid has promised the largest increase in public spending on the health service in ten years.

Who's been in power for the last nine years of the decade?

www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=2&ved=2ahUKEwjSw5Plp_jkAhW1QxUIHZXNDNwQFjABegQIARAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fuk-politics-24130684&usg=AOvVaw0lVRImgBmq7EpOc1hJpkNG

Wastage of £13 billion by Blair, plus £31 billion legal fees owed by Govt in relation to this , plus grossly expensive PFI initiative which taxpayers will be funding for decades yet. Thank you For wasting all this taxpayers NHS funds Mr Blair and Labour.

MOnica excellent point!
I live in the North East and we have a new hospital which for anyone without a car is an absolute nightmare to attend/visit.

The ambulance service in my area have been told that anyone calling an ambulance must be taken to this hospital and it's resulted in people actually refusing to be taken in...
Yet we have 3 fantastic hospitals within a 10/15 minute journey - all easily accessible by public transport!
Some months ago when I was with a family member for an appointment, I was chatting to a lady whose husband had been admitted, her mobility wasn't great and to visit was costing her £20+ a day in a taxi(she has nobody who can take / collect her).

The tories have closed youth centres, sure start centres, police stations, fire stations, walk in centres, A and Es, tax offices, libraries, schools, - what has opened? 2,000 food banks. Great record.

Most of it isn't new money. The CCG responsible for Princess Alexandra Trust has been selling off land and, no doubt, the land where the current hospital stands is worth millions. Some of the money has already been earmarked by government and the trust intends to raise the rest from investment (PFI Mark2?).

Well if the new hospital Liverpool is still building 2years after the finish date is anything to go by, I would ask whose pockets are being lined!! Corilian went bust. A closer look at their finances could have told anyone willing to listen it was going to happen. It's just money for the boys! Where has this money suddenly come from? The lies in the bus go round and round.

It's claptrap. Just like the words on the side of the bus were that promised to plough millions into our NHS that gullible folk fell for.

Leicester Hospitals Trust have just been given £450 million. In the last few years we have had a new state of the art A&E and multistorey carpark. They are going to build a dedicated children's wing and a maternity hospital.
In Loughborough there is still a 24 hour urgent care centre and I am hoping this will stay open.

EllanVannin So agree with everything you said

As I keep saying, there isn’t a great shortage of staff, just too many people for them to deal with. Our schools, doctors’ surgeries, hospitals, roads, are all overcrowded. There has to be a limit to the number of people who can, economically be supported. The only people who are benefitting are builders and owners of supermarkets.

A promise means nothing from any politician - no matter what their political party. Treat politicians a bit like a silent film. Watch what they do not the words they would like us to believe.

I doubt if many new staff will be needed.

I've just spent a little time Googling past copies of local papers. It would appear that the new hospital promised in my area isn't new money at all. It's been in the pipeline for years, the land has been found, a new spur off the motorway is being built and financing has been planned, etc. All that's happened is that the final piece if the jigsaw has been put in place.

It would be interesting to know whether it's the same with the other planned new hospitals.

I am waiting for government , especially local government to realise that the people going to hospitals are ill and many are not capable of using public transport, which will also apply to many visitors. That means it is essential to have sufficient parking and advising people to use public transport, when the nearest station is 3 miles away, the nearest park and ride 2 miles away, requiring long bus rides by ill or disabled people is unacceptable.

In recent years DH and I have avoided using our local hospital and have even paid for private care because the LA and the hospital have advised anyone going to the hospital to allow at least an extra hour for getting there and finding parking. This means that our journey takes nearly 2 hours. We are encouraged to use a park and ride several miles away. Even surgeons coming it to work with operation lists with fixed starting times have faced hefty fines for not parking in an approved bay because they could not find one.

I watched the whole programme.
It's farcical to expect to build 40 hospitals over never mind how many years unless we have the surgeons, doctors, nurses, other medics, catering and ancillary staff to fill the positions.
Medical staff take years to train. It's all pie in the sky. Wishing over reality.

It would appear to be PFI Mark 2:

www.hsj.co.uk/story.aspx?storyCode=7021723&preview=1&hash=6FB20F0A07557825BF02EB4788CA0F3E

Interestingly, the EU (via Eurostat) won't allow governments to keep this kind of funding off the balance sheet with regards the national debt. I guess it's just coincidence that this money is promised just as the UK is about to leave the EU .