Hospitals losing patients

[MissyD]

Read in the news today about how busy hospitals are losing patients.

It reminded me of something that happened to me years ago. My then husband was taken ill and taken to hospital and was still in casualty when I first arrived. I then had to go out to feed the meter, when I came back in , he wasn't in the cubicle where I'd left him! I was wandering around looking lost when a lady asked if I was Ok? I said "no, I've just lost my husband!" "I'm so sorry to hear that" she said. "Oh no" I said, when I realised..."I mean I just can't find him"

 

[SpoonJar]

Did they try looking down the back of the sofa?.

 

[E55BOF]

When you said 'losing', I assumed you meant deceased rather than misplaced...

 

[leef44]

When you said 'losing', I assumed you meant deceased rather than misplaced...

I thought she meant there were less patients using the NHS.

 

[E55BOF]

Whoosh...

 

[whitenemesis]

I thought MissyD meant the hospitals were becoming annoyed or exasperated with something ......

(spelling was never my strong suit)

 

[moonloops]

The NHS are pathetic. A pal of mine had to wait 6 months for an operation due to a lack of beds.

I offered to buy them 100 Ikea Tarva beds but they refused.

 

[renault12ts]

The lack of appreciation for the NHS is absolutely astounding.

 

[Deleted96908]

The lack of appreciation for the NHS is absolutely astounding.

Yes, but funny how folks tend to change their minds once they’ve been patched up - and all of it for free.

 

[renault12ts]

My 89 year old father had a pacemaker fitted...last year.

My 18 year old nephew is in an extremely bad way in an Edinburgh hospital with pneumonia and pleurisy...ask me how grateful we are he is getting the best attention available from the NHS. He's a first year med student at Edinburgh University...never thought he'd get so up close and personal with this condition.

My wife is a nurse on a cardiac ward...she cares so much.

My daughter is a nurse in GOSH...she loves those kids.

My fil will be 90 this Saturday...he has moved into our house while he awaits his end...the NHS have provided a first class care package.

The NHS is the best in the world. So you have to wait a year to get your nose straightened...who cares.

 

[GeeJayW]

The NHS have an almost impossible job to do. It's become so big and cumbersome that I think it's actually surprising that there's not more stuff going wrong.

The NHS will never be completely fit for purpose. It will never have enough funding (it will always need more than it receives) and will never be critically sized to meet demand. If there are spare beds, people complain that there is costly over capacity which leads to ward closures and budget cuts. If there are not enough beds, people complain that waiting times go up etc..

Truly is a no win situation where it's typical for only bad news to be in the headlines. You'll rarely see a headline that says just how fantastic the NHS is, how hard and committed everyone in it is, how much of our national revenue gets poured into it each year or just how big the challenges are.

As for losing/misplacing patients; it should all be more joined up, but then there's a big discussion on just how to do that in a way that keeps everyone's personal details secure.

For those that have had poor experiences of the NHS, you have my sympathies. Waiting for hours on a trolley in the corridor, getting a wrong diagnosis, having the wrong leg chopped off etc.. can't be much fun. That said, I'd like to think that the majority of people have a good experience.

 

[Deleted96908]

The NHS will never be completely fit for purpose.

Then perhaps the purpose is wrong.

What started with the best of intentions, is now a catch all for everything that society throws at it. I can't imagine how hard it must be for GPs dealing with the range of problems folks now expect to be treated. Myself included. So, no wonder health professionals use 'expert systems' such as NICE Pathways - how else could they cope? (I have been in discussions with NICE recently with a view to making that same data available to a wider audience and they told me they've endured large budget cuts and are now having to sell some NICE clinical data overseas, just to make ends meet in the UK )

I do wonder if a hybrid solution might work better. Perhaps the patient making a contribution towards some non critical treatments (means tested). But I don't hold out a lot of hope given the recent reaction to suggestions that surgeries should charge for appointments, in part to address the appalling no show rate.

 

[Dryce]

Truly is a no win situation where it's typical for only bad news to be in the headlines. You'll rarely see a headline that says just how fantastic the NHS is, how hard and committed everyone in it is, how much of our national revenue gets poured into it each year or just how big the challenges are.

Actually the marvel is how little of our national revenue gets thrown at it given what it actually delivers.

My view of the NHS is that people either look at it too uncritically or they chuck rocks at it - or it's a political battlefield.

The real testament I suspect that: our politicians might fight a bit over it but it's more about the detail than whether it is a good or bad thing - the general public whio use it might moan from time to time but don't want to lose it - the staff might moan but down't want to lose it - and I can't think of any of the major media on any political side suggesting that it should be gotten rid of.

Ask yourself - can you envisage the UK without the NHS?

I can't. And I'm cynical and grumpy about lots of stuff.

Maybe we are all deluded and can't see how wrong we are - but I really don't think that is the case.

So maybe we should as a nation take more moments and marvel at the achievment. I think the 2012 Olympics was maybe the last time it was highlighted this way in a very public way.

 

[GeeJayW]

Actually the marvel is how little of our national revenue gets thrown at it given what it actually delivers.

My view of the NHS is that people either look at it too uncritically or they chuck rocks at it - or it's a political battlefield.

The real testament I suspect that: our politicians might fight a bit over it but it's more about the detail than whether it is a good or bad thing - the general public whio use it might moan from time to time but don't want to lose it - the staff might moan but down't want to lose it - and I can't think of any of the major media on any political side suggesting that it should be gotten rid of.

Ask yourself - can you envisage the UK without the NHS?

I can't. And I'm cynical and grumpy about lots of stuff.

Maybe we are all deluded and can't see how wrong we are - but I really don't think that is the case.

So maybe we should as a nation take more moments and marvel at the achievment. I think the 2012 Olympics was maybe the last time it was highlighted this way in a very public way.

Wow!

Where did I say anywhere that we should get rid of it? The NHS is one of the things that makes the UK a decent place to live.

 

[Dryce]

Wow!

Where did I say anywhere that we should get rid of it? The NHS is one of the things that makes the UK a decent place to live.

You may have misinterpreted the nature of my post - it wasn't looking to counter yours.

 

[GeeJayW]

You may have misinterpreted the nature of my post - it wasn't looking to counter yours.

I guess I was fooled by the inclusion of part of my post in yours, i.e. your reply. Anyway, I guess we both agree that the NHS should continue...

 

[Dryce]

I guess I was fooled by the inclusion of part of my post in yours, i.e. your reply.

I suspect my opening 'Actually' is the real cuplrit. It perhaps implies a rebutal or counter rather than extension or support or neutral comment the quoted post.

So my bad I suspect.

 

[GeeJayW]

I suspect my opening 'Actually' is the real cuplrit. It perhaps implies a rebutal or counter rather than extension or support or neutral comment the quoted post.

So my bad I suspect.

No worries.

 

[grober]

While the NHS has many organisational problems a quick look at other countries with similar demographics would indicate its basically down to spending a bit more money. Not a blank cheque- just one that's a bit bigger than at present.

Major NHS trust put in special measures

Health Costs: How the U.S. Compares With Other Countries

 

[renault12ts]

The US spend so much...and get so little.