How the NHS wastes money.

I am on HRT and every so often get called in for a check of Blood Pressure, height and weight. You also get a chance to discuss any problems or concerns. If all OK you are then prescribed next lot of HRT.

This month I got a text to say I was to use the testing equipment in reception. Along I went, two attempts to get a BP reading, weighed and measured but would not record. The receptionist says she knows nothing about it. I told her to add a message for my Dr saying that it only recorded BP, which she did.

Then I get a text from GP to say it’s not complete and would I do these at home and forward them to her. What a waste of money, time, petrol and energy.

I suppose it comes down to what the population think is important. Is it more important to provide translators for none English speakers (either citizens or visitors) or is it more important to buy more MRI scanners so cancer and other problems can be diagnosed quicker?

I don’t think it a huge problem if families provide their own translators. Why? Become that’s what happened when I was teaching. If the bilingual teaching assistant was in school (half a day a week) she/he would translate for us, but if they weren’t, during parent’s evenings for example, the parent would bring an older child or relative with them who would translate.

It worked!

And most people would choose to have more vital MRI scanners (as an example) than more translators!

I currently have in my possession one walking (zimmer) frame, and a walking stick, both were offered back to the hospital and refused. I also came home in one of their robes, the kind that open down the back, I said I`d wash it and return it, was told not to bother, it would only get thrown away.

I'm surprised somebody hasn't set up some group to collate all these examples of waste rather than just moaning about them.

People's stories could be collated and categorised, then sent off to the DHSC, NHS England, NHS Scotland, NHS Wales and HSC as a proper report.

Allsorts

It's up to people that live here to speak English. However, how many times have you seen a doctor or nurse you can't understand. It's a disgrace. If I font understand I say and ask them to get someone in that does.
NHS, too top heavy, nothing better than a Matron, sisters, nurses and auxiliaries. Now it's one overstretched nurse, food at the bottom of the bed that you can't get too and if you want the loo best of luck. It's a lottery getting into a good hospital and never ever get ill at weekends or a bank holiday. I have had brilliant treatment, but sitting in A and E fourteen hours whilst ill is no joke.

I agree it’s a total lottery.
On NHS work practices I see regularly cleaners pushing a mop around in a desultory way, stopping, sighing, and talking to mates passing by.On prices, I remember a nurse on Question Time talking about the high price of a light bulb which was not only pricey but took weeks to be done when she could have gone the next day on her way home to buy one cheaply.
Now we realise that goods can’t be bought by the nurses themselves but why oh why are hugely inflated invoices accepted by the NHS? It’s our money and in many cases is badly spent.

Don’t forget that ‘hotel services’ such as cleaning, were privatised. The hospital administration isn’t responsible for these workers. It is also highly likely that, given staff shortages the demands on the clinical ward staff don’t give them time to monitor the cleaners (and it isn’t their job, anyway)

Hospitals built with PFI could well be trapped by the ludicrous contracts made with the private funders under which maintenance has to be carried out by the funder’s contractors and paid for at their prices. PFI schools got caught out like this, too.

Oreo

Allsorts

It's up to people that live here to speak English. However, how many times have you seen a doctor or nurse you can't understand. It's a disgrace. If I font understand I say and ask them to get someone in that does.
NHS, too top heavy, nothing better than a Matron, sisters, nurses and auxiliaries. Now it's one overstretched nurse, food at the bottom of the bed that you can't get too and if you want the loo best of luck. It's a lottery getting into a good hospital and never ever get ill at weekends or a bank holiday. I have had brilliant treatment, but sitting in A and E fourteen hours whilst ill is no joke.

I agree it’s a total lottery.
On NHS work practices I see regularly cleaners pushing a mop around in a desultory way, stopping, sighing, and talking to mates passing by.On prices, I remember a nurse on Question Time talking about the high price of a light bulb which was not only pricey but took weeks to be done when she could have gone the next day on her way home to buy one cheaply.
Now we realise that goods can’t be bought by the nurses themselves but why oh why are hugely inflated invoices accepted by the NHS? It’s our money and in many cases is badly spent.

Because the government lawyers at the time didn’t read the small print in the contracts.
It was all there in black and white.

To be fair, petra, corporates make deals all the time and retain very expensive lawyers and negotiators. I don’t think our civil service and government lawyers were any match for them.

In fact, IIRC, the school I worked in was about to be involved in a PFI deal just before the tories got in in 2010 and it was, thankfully, shelved. I understood that the contract was going to be dealt with at LA level, not by central government. Even less expertise in such deals to draw on.

The hospital I used to work at decided to make cut backs to save money (unfortunately none of the many layers of management). No they decided to get rid of half the secretary's who worked for the consultants. So the remaining secretaries were allocated the work from two consultants. Now it doesn't take a brain surgeon to realise what happens when one of those remaining staff went on annual leave or were off sick. There was no one to take on their work because the others already had twice the work. Consequently letters to patients and GP's are delayed. No wonder appointment letters turn up after the appointment. Things like diagnostic reports were not filed in the notes. I lost count of the amount of times I had to physically go and collect them so a consultant could actually discuss results with a patient. I was a nurse not a gofer!

MaizieD

To be fair, petra, corporates make deals all the time and retain very expensive lawyers and negotiators. I don’t think our civil service and government lawyers were any match for them.

In fact, IIRC, the school I worked in was about to be involved in a PFI deal just before the tories got in in 2010 and it was, thankfully, shelved. I understood that the contract was going to be dealt with at LA level, not by central government. Even less expertise in such deals to draw on.

But but but, if schools or hospitals were to pay their lawyers and negotiators on a par with the private sector, they would be accused of spending too much on pen-pushing managers.

Our doctor surgeries remind you of your appointment a day beforehand. Mind you, we pay $92 for 5 minutes and get less than half back from our equivalent of the NHS. I think you will be going the same way by the sound of it. Nothing is for nothing here.

We get reminders too. Lots of them.

I am going twice a week for physio and get two separate texts and two separate emails every week. To clarify - two of each type of reminder (two emails and two texts) for each of the two days. It drives me crazy, as I am perfectly capable of putting the appointments in my phone (which would also remind me if I hadn’t pleaded with it not to) but I don’t suppose it costs anything as the reminders will be automated. As I said upthread though, people still don’t turn up, even when they get free taxis. I don’t know whether they get reminded about that as well as the appointments, but their lack of attendance is not for want of being told ad nauseam that they should be going. They may have perfectly valid other reasons for all I know, but delays in communication only account for so much.

Update

I posted on here about an out of order toilet on my husband’s hospital bay. Day 15 now and it is even worse because the whole floor is awash with water. Must be easily an inch of water so completely useless.
Bear in mind that we have seen countless workmen in there, a whole new floor put in (it’s a large wetroom with shower, toilet etc) and a new toilet. My son pointed out that the only dry area on the floor is where the drain in the floor is so it’s a complete disaster start to finish.

Not only that but two other toilets down the corridor have also flooded. The building is less than 5 years old so we are not talking Victorian plumbing.

Primrose53 It's all because of Brexit. All the Polish plumbers went home and we didn't replace them with British plumbers. There's a huge shortage of pretty much every skill in the building trade. OH does some of our plumbing, he's not qualified but he probably knows more than most people doing plumbing jobs for the NHS!

foxie48 👍🏻
My adult grandson is a plumber and qualified gas engineer.m he’s never short of work.

I worked for a govt quango, we had to sign up to the company who put the cheapest bid in, this meany waiting for a person to come to Manchester from Birmingham to fix a window catch. We weren’t allowed to get John, our local odd job person, we had to book ‘the supplier’. We knew it was bonkers but hey ho

Talking of Victorian plumbing, surely the Victorian sewerage system must be crumbling.

Good point bathsalts. We’ve relied on those wonderful Victorians for so much , railways, sewers, parks and more

Will today's last as long?

Our buildings certainly don't.

The Victorians left some excellent legacies

Daft thing to think about maybe , but when that goes, we'll be up the creek. A particular creek at that.

bathsalts

Daft thing to think about maybe , but when that goes, we'll be up the creek. A particular creek at that.

Do you mean a polluted creek?

The NHS have just wasted another £330 approx!

Yesterday I collected my husband’s prescriptions. He came out of hospital nearly 3 weeks ago. Huge bag of pills and then the assistant at surgery told me there were also some energy drinks. She then passed over several boxes of the stuff. 84 bottles in total. I told her we didn’t need that many and she said “they have a long shelf life so take them and you won’t need to order again.” she had to help me get them out to my car!

Yesterday evening we had a text to say the hospital dietician said my husband doesn’t need them anymore as husband is eating 3 good meals a day. This morning a letter arrived from him confirming this.

I contacted the surgery to ask if I can return them and I can’t! I was told to just dispose of them. Fair enough for medicines and pills but these are still wrapped in polythene, on cardboard trays and were kept outside in my cool summerhouse overnight. They do not have to be refrigerated or anything.

The total cost of these is a shocking £330 approx! We didn’t order these, the hospital did.

I understand your frustration Primrose but the hospital may not have predicted how quickly your husband would recover.
It’s not uncommon for items not to be returnable possibly fear of contamination
It’s good to hear your husband is doing so well

Iam64

I understand your frustration Primrose but the hospital may not have predicted how quickly your husband would recover.
It’s not uncommon for items not to be returnable possibly fear of contamination
It’s good to hear your husband is doing so well

He is very far from recovered!

How can a liquid in a sealed plastic bottle, inside a polythene shrink wrap inside a cardboard tray get contaminated in less than 24 hours?