RANT; The NHS!!

Fiddlestick

skintdragon wrote: »

It is frustrating when the surgeons know there are no beds for patients to go to post op, yet they put knife on skin, then leave the nurses to sort out where their patients will go afterwards.

Which is how it should be IMO.


The surgeon's job is to perform surgery, not worry about the bed space afterwords.

Compare the wages of a surgeon against the wages of a nurse.

I would much rather the surgeon kept on working so that we got value for money from the wages, rather than have them paid to be twiddling their thumbs through lack of beds.

If it were the other way round then we would have the Daily Mail and the other right-wing press banging on about "highly paid, underworked surgeons standing around doing nothing!" and so on and so forth.

It's unfortunate that things like this happen, but the NHS is what it is and I would much rather have it in it's current state than have to have expensive medical insurance like in the US.

Molly41

Fiddlestick wrote: »

Which is how it should be IMO.


The surgeon's job is to perform surgery, not worry about the bed space afterwords.

Compare the wages of a surgeon against the wages of a nurse.

I would much rather the surgeon kept on working so that we got value for money from the wages, rather than have them paid to be twiddling their thumbs through lack of beds.

If it were the other way round then we would have the Daily Mail and the other right-wing press banging on about "highly paid, underworked surgeons standing around doing nothing!" and so on and so forth.

It's unfortunate that things like this happen, but the NHS is what it is and I would much rather have it in it's current state than have to have expensive medical insurance like in the US.

You obviously have no idea then how dangerous this can be. Having an operation is one thing, recovering from an operation is quite another. If the patient is not cared for under the correct conditions then their lives are in danger. I suggest you read the findings of major hospital investigations which have concluded that its the systemic failings that lead to patients death. Careful planning for any operation is crucial. They spent months planning the operation at Great Ormond Street to separate the conjoined twins. That was a huge team and those twin wouldn't have survived if it hadnt of been for the aftercare. An operation should be planned from start to finish and is a huge organisational undertaking and involves a team approach. Its when this is lacking that patients suffer or even die.

jimbms

Fiddlestick wrote: »

Which is how it should be IMO.
It's unfortunate that things like this happen, but the NHS is what it is and I would much rather have it in it's current state than have to have expensive medical insurance like in the US.

But the point is the countries other then the UK have NHS services that actually work well, where patients are seen on time, waiting lists are short, prescription charges low, dentists available etc and they pay about the same per head for it. So why is the UK NHS in such a state? you cannot blame the front line staff, what is to blame is the high numbers of often not needed administration staff that are sucking funds out of the system. Other countries can run it efficiently so why can't the UK?

Fiddlestick

Molly41 wrote: »

They spent months planning the operation at Great Ormond Street to separate the conjoined twins. That was a huge team and those twin wouldn't have survived if it hadnt of been for the aftercare. An operation should be planned from start to finish and is a huge organisational undertaking and involves a team approach.

There is a huge, huge difference between the average day surgery case and a major operation like separating conjoined twins.

Fiddlestick

jimbms wrote: »

But the point is the countries other then the UK have NHS services that actually work well, where patients are seen on time, waiting lists are short, prescription charges low, dentists available etc and they pay about the same per head for it. So why is the UK NHS in such a state?

I think it's down to the spending priorities of the individual trusts.

I can only speak for NHS Lothian but I've always experienced reasonable waiting lists, available dentists, well-planned services, clean hospitals and prescriptions that cost me £3 per item.

I also live in a major city.

Things weren't quite to good under the sprawling NHS Greater Glasgow mind, but that's another story.

jimbms

Fiddlestick wrote: »

I think it's down to the spending priorities of the individual trusts.

I can only speak for NHS Lothian but I've always experienced reasonable waiting lists, available dentists, well-planned services, clean hospitals and prescriptions that cost me £3 per item.

I also live in a major city.

Things weren't quite to good under the sprawling NHS Greater Glasgow mind, but that's another story.

That is exactly my point, prescriptions in Scotland like here in the Isle of Man are £3, waiting lists low etc. I should realy have said England rather than UK sorry forgot Scotland is more efficient
Mind you I believe for the world cup OXO have brought out a new cube, it's white with a red cross.....they have called it the laughing stock cube.

Molly41

Fiddlestick wrote: »

There is a huge, huge difference between the average day surgery case and a major operation like separating conjoined twins.

No people need proper postoperative care whatever the operation - day surgery or not. Do you have experience of working as a nurse or surgeon in the NHS with adequate training to back up your thoughts?

Fiddlestick

Molly41 wrote: »

No people need proper postoperative care whatever the operation - day surgery or not. Do you have experience of working as a nurse or surgeon in the NHS with adequate training to back up your thoughts?

Not personally, but I have close family and friends that are indeed nurses, surgeons and anaesthetists on the NHS

At no point did I say that people did not need "proper post-operative care", but take myself as an example.

Later this year I am going to require carpal tunnel surgery. My post-operative needs are going to be radically different to someone that is having a tumor removed or an organ transplant. You can't just lump everything in together.