HAVING A RANT ABOUT UK NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE
Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2016 11:37 pm
I'd be the first to defend our UK National Health Service. When in employment we pay a very small % of our earnings towards this service.
However - It is now overloaded to the point of disaster.
In ER patients are often on trolleys in the corridor waiting to get a hospital bed. It has been known for an ambulance to be sitting outside ER with a patient because there is no room in ER. This in turn is keeping the ambulance out of commission. The doctors and nurses are wonderful but cannot cope. In an emergency you will indeed be in or at hospital and receive care eventually and on a triage system. A couple of months ago my husband had a suspected heart attack and was treated by paramedics at home and then straight to hospital by ambulance. They were wonderful. All was clear regarding anything cardiac and following later tests it would appear likely that it was a gall stone passing. It would seem that he has them in abundance and is awaiting treatment.
If you are not an emergency..... treatment becomes anyone's guess with regard to time frame.
The waiting lists are horrendous, this I knew but not just to the extent that was announced on the local news last night.
It seems that if you have a lump in the breast, the waiting list to see a Consultant is 35 weeks.
To see an Orthopaedic Consultant- hips/knees/arthrtic joints, the waiting time is over 100 weeks, following which there is then the waiting list for actual treatment.
To see a Urologist was something like 75 weeks.
Now this just makes me mad.
As for someone with varicose veins - you'd need to have pretty severe problems before they'd stop considering it as 'cosmetic'. Of course, this is understandable because there are limited funds and more serious conditions to be treated.
I do understand that it is all about money to pay for staff/time/theatres etc. Coming towards the end of a financial year I've heard of a hospital ward being closed for a few weeks because there isn't the money to staff it. Two wards being combined and thus fewer patients in each category receiving treatment until funds level out and/or a new financial year is reached.
Many folks have private healthcare via their employment but even if after retirement they wish to continue this and pay it themselves, the cost becomes almost impossible once age 65 is reached.
I have this week taken out a very basic private healthcare plan which covers any Consultant appointment fee where my GP will confirm that there is a waiting list that is too long to be acceptable. Yes, pretty basic but it will allow a little bit of a 'queue jump'. In the past I have on occasion paid out of pocket to do this.
To see on local news that it takes 35 weeks to see a Cancer Consultant has shocked me so much, I am appalled.
If the contribution from each employed person was increased by 'xyz' it could make such a difference. I certainly wouldn't object to that. Easy for me to say as I'm now retired but I'd be willing to pay it from my Government Pension, it wouldn't be very much per person that would be needed to make a big difference. OK, so I'm sure the Government has some reason not to do this, they are educated and astute people.... aren't they?? If it was that easy they'd have done it .. wouldn't you think?
Of course, there aren't enough trained doctors and nurses coming through - university placed were reduced, the result of misplaced oresight some years ago.... they got that one wrong. We have lovely nurses from abroad and in particular the far east, but not enough nurses in general, and not enough doctors.
Good private Medical insurance is such a bonus to open the doors to the private hospitals.
Ok.....I've got that off my chest. Rant over.
However - It is now overloaded to the point of disaster.
In ER patients are often on trolleys in the corridor waiting to get a hospital bed. It has been known for an ambulance to be sitting outside ER with a patient because there is no room in ER. This in turn is keeping the ambulance out of commission. The doctors and nurses are wonderful but cannot cope. In an emergency you will indeed be in or at hospital and receive care eventually and on a triage system. A couple of months ago my husband had a suspected heart attack and was treated by paramedics at home and then straight to hospital by ambulance. They were wonderful. All was clear regarding anything cardiac and following later tests it would appear likely that it was a gall stone passing. It would seem that he has them in abundance and is awaiting treatment.
If you are not an emergency..... treatment becomes anyone's guess with regard to time frame.
The waiting lists are horrendous, this I knew but not just to the extent that was announced on the local news last night.
It seems that if you have a lump in the breast, the waiting list to see a Consultant is 35 weeks.
To see an Orthopaedic Consultant- hips/knees/arthrtic joints, the waiting time is over 100 weeks, following which there is then the waiting list for actual treatment.
To see a Urologist was something like 75 weeks.
Now this just makes me mad.
As for someone with varicose veins - you'd need to have pretty severe problems before they'd stop considering it as 'cosmetic'. Of course, this is understandable because there are limited funds and more serious conditions to be treated.
I do understand that it is all about money to pay for staff/time/theatres etc. Coming towards the end of a financial year I've heard of a hospital ward being closed for a few weeks because there isn't the money to staff it. Two wards being combined and thus fewer patients in each category receiving treatment until funds level out and/or a new financial year is reached.
Many folks have private healthcare via their employment but even if after retirement they wish to continue this and pay it themselves, the cost becomes almost impossible once age 65 is reached.
I have this week taken out a very basic private healthcare plan which covers any Consultant appointment fee where my GP will confirm that there is a waiting list that is too long to be acceptable. Yes, pretty basic but it will allow a little bit of a 'queue jump'. In the past I have on occasion paid out of pocket to do this.
To see on local news that it takes 35 weeks to see a Cancer Consultant has shocked me so much, I am appalled.
If the contribution from each employed person was increased by 'xyz' it could make such a difference. I certainly wouldn't object to that. Easy for me to say as I'm now retired but I'd be willing to pay it from my Government Pension, it wouldn't be very much per person that would be needed to make a big difference. OK, so I'm sure the Government has some reason not to do this, they are educated and astute people.... aren't they?? If it was that easy they'd have done it .. wouldn't you think?
Of course, there aren't enough trained doctors and nurses coming through - university placed were reduced, the result of misplaced oresight some years ago.... they got that one wrong. We have lovely nurses from abroad and in particular the far east, but not enough nurses in general, and not enough doctors.
Good private Medical insurance is such a bonus to open the doors to the private hospitals.
Ok.....I've got that off my chest. Rant over.