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Doctor_Gloom

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

I've never used it, so won't miss it.

In fact, I've never used the vast majority of so called "public services", so wouldn't miss them either.

A typically selfish miserly Mctavish viewpoint. I've got a house and no children so sod the rest of society. It pretty much sums you up and all the other selfish rubbish you post here.

Antispam

The problem is some people may not want to go to bother of hospital or GP unless advised to do so given information they give, sometimes a friendly answer and or reassurance is all that is needed hence saves clogging up casualty.

You can speak to a qualified nurse too after initially answering questions

Have you tried going to your GP mine is 3-4 days wait then if your lucky you might get in.

Cleaver wrote: »

I've never really understood NHS Direct. If I have a cold or flu then I can sort myself out with over the counter drugs and a lot of moaning to the wife. If it develops in to something more serious that's giving me concern then rather than have someone try and diagnose it over the phone, I will go to my GP. So I've never really been sure what section of ill people NHS Direct appeals to.

My opinion on the second story is that it's nice to see any baby born healthy and happy, especially when a couple has lost a previous child in tragic circumstances. I quite like the name Florence too.

Cleaver

Doctor_Gloom wrote: »

A typically selfish miserly Mctavish viewpoint. I've got a house and no children so sod the rest of society. It pretty much sums you up and all the other selfish rubbish you post here.

I think Hamish clarified his position on this by saying that there should be some services moved to the private sector or paid for by the public when required, which is a valid viewpoint. He certainly wasn't saying 'sod the rest of society', I think you probably read this in to his post because you don't like him.

I'm personally a bit uncofortable with the idea of an NHS helpline being privatised, as dopester and Hamish suggested. I see some of the merits of this idea, but I'd be concerned that if you did this then you'd find the poorer sections of society not using the service.

vivatifosi

I'm really in two minds on the NHS Direct issue. I've used it twice. Once the advice was really good and the other it just didn't deliver the goods.

Whatever the replacement, it's clear from the small selection of posts on here that service delivery needs to be more consistent for it to be valued. I'd also argue that the replacement's remit needs to be clearer, especially if the out of hours service is being tinkered with at the same time as there appears to be a significant overlap.

tomterm8

The real value of NHS direct is that it handles non urgent calls that would otherwise require going to a doctor or accident & emergency... and, both these resources are much more expensive than NHS direct. I don't really see how a new number is going to be cheaper to run, unless it involves going from a system with qualified medical people to the equivalent of an indian IT helpdesk. In which case, people won't call 111, but will go to their doctors, which will cost more money in the long term.

Generali

tomterm8 wrote: »

The real value of NHS direct is that it handles non urgent calls that would otherwise require going to a doctor or accident & emergency... and, both these resources are much more expensive than NHS direct. I don't really see how a new number is going to be cheaper to run, unless it involves going from a system with qualified medical people to the equivalent of an indian IT helpdesk. In which case, people won't call 111, but will go to their doctors, which will cost more money in the long term.

My experience of NHS direct is:

NHS Direct (NHSD): Hello
Generali With Slightly Under The Weather Child (GWSUTWC): Hi, my child has symptoms of a minor illness: slight fever, looking pale, off her food.
NHSD: Oooh, sounds bad. Take her to your local hospital.
GWSUTWC: Really? I was wondering whether ibuprofen or paracetamol would be more suitable in this case.
NHSD: No, no, no. Hospital or doctor. CYA as my boss always says.

I can see the rationale for NHSD but in reality it's hopeless. Has anyone not been told to see a medical professional as a result of calling NHSD? That was presumably the point at the start - let a helpline deal with the non-urgent and non-serious cases. In reality it's very hard to say which is which with certainty face-to-face let alone over the phone.

tomterm8

Well, do you think it will be any different with '111'. The same kind of logic applies, surely, except at least NHS direct is staffed by people who have some kind of medical qualification?

If NHS direct doesn't work, the best bet is to stop paying for it, and allow people like BUPA to offer their own for profit service.

vivatifosi

tomterm8 wrote: »

If NHS direct doesn't work, the best bet is to stop paying for it, and allow people like BUPA to offer their own for profit service.

I do think it is time for an honest discussion on the NHS. I'd argue that hospital treatment should continue to be free, but those who are well enough off to afford it (which is most people with savings) should be able to pay for a room for the night with private nursing care. DH has done this twice and paid for private nursing while having the major expense - the cost of the operation - paid by the NHS. It was £300 per night for the room. I can't begin to say how big a difference it made and such comforts should not be the sole preserve of that 7-15% with medical insurance or who are willing to pay the full cost.

I also think that the government should consider charging for missed appointments at the doctors, providing there is not a pressing reason for missing the appointment.

In terms of NHS Direct, I just don't know. I wouldn't pay for it at the moment because I'm not convinced of its intrinsic value, though I'm sure I'd rather speak to a nurse than a call handler. As I said before, if I understood better why I would want to use it and it came through with a consistent level of service I'd happily pay a small subscription pa to use.

dopester

Cleaver wrote: »

I think Hamish clarified his position on this by saying that there should be some services moved to the private sector or paid for by the public when required, which is a valid viewpoint. He certainly wasn't saying 'sod the rest of society', I think you probably read this in to his post because you don't like him.

I'm personally a bit uncofortable with the idea of an NHS helpline being privatised, as dopester and Hamish suggested. I see some of the merits of this idea, but I'd be concerned that if you did this then you'd find the poorer sections of society not using the service.

A £1 or £2 annual direct debit for membership + only a £1 or £2 charge per call (say 60p/£1.20 of that going to NHS Direct) you make to NHS Direct. Not £1 or £2 a minute. £5 a telephone call for non-members.

I could see a few million people taking up the subscription for that. Then if there really is 14,000 people, per day, who ring NHS Direct, then at £1 or £2 a call a call, it should help pay for itself and turn a profit (imo.).

Sorry... even the poor can afford that plan.

If you're against such a very affordable plan - then I can't see you wanting anything privatised. It's not like I'm suggesting we scrap the NHS entirely and follow a costly US based approach.

The opportunity is here to possibly make the NHS Direct type service even better than it already is, with more qualified staff to take calls, and turn a profit for the provider.

Instead we're now already looking at a lesser service (despite claims to the contrary from those making the cuts), and probably more hidden impact costs with more people going to the doctor's surgery, or direct to hospital - when previously they might have been it's not necessary, and their health issues addressed, after calling NHS Direct.

dopester

In 2007-08 the service received 4,858,000 phonecalls from patients.

However the rest of this Telegraph article from October 2008 is shocking.

Every call to NHS Direct costs £25

Every phone call to the Government's health helpline costs the taxpayer £25, new figures show, which is as much as a visit from a patient to a GP.

Every call to NHS Direct costs the service the equivalent of £25 ?!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/3253245/Every-call-to-NHS-Direct-costs-25.html

It obviously needs to be managed better. Needs the scalpel taking to it - run by private enterprise who get the Camelot/lottery style go ahead.. if they meet tough capping rules so remains very affordable with a good standard of service provided.