NHS Inefficiency

moonrakerz

My wife had to give herself a course of injections. The doctor/chemist supplied everything she needed.
BUT - when she came to getting rid of the used needles - what a pantomime !

The doctors' surgery wouldn't take them, the chemist wouldn't take them, even the community hospital 250 yds away wouldn't take them - she had to phone an office 15 miles away and they sent someone out to collect them !

Perhaps those who complain about the so-called cuts in the NHS should take a look at lunacy such as this first............

hermanmunster_3

moonrakerz wrote: »

My wife had to give herself a course of injections. The doctor/chemist supplied everything she needed.
BUT - when she came to getting rid of the used needles - what a pantomime !

The doctors' surgery wouldn't take them, the chemist wouldn't take them, even the community hospital 250 yds away wouldn't take them - she had to phone an office 15 miles away and they sent someone out to collect them !

Perhaps those who complain about the so-called cuts in the NHS should take a look at lunacy such as this first............

Problem is that the GP and the pharmacist are independent businesses and have to pay for the disposal of sharps / dangerous waste etc. Invoices can be eye watering - hardly going to volunteer to take some more if they can get them dealth with elsewhere!

pmduk

fluffnutter wrote: »

I won't say PCT because they don't exist any more

PCT's do still exist. I expect that when they are eventually abolished they'll end up being replaced by something very similar.

dinglebert

Lip_Stick wrote: »

Does this one count?

Took my son for his 6 month check with an ENT specialist. He has grommets, and one was blocked so the ENT gave me a sheet of paper with details of ear drops he'd need.

He told me I could either take it to my docs or go to somewhere like Asda if I'm registered and get it over the counter with the minor ailments scheme. I head over to Asda, wait 10 mins and go back. The assistant told me the drops couldn't be given as he has grommets and it has to be done through the docs.

I go to the docs and hand over the letter. I'm told to return after 48hrs to pick up the prescription. The doc doesn't even see my son, so what is the point in bothering going there? Surely the ENT is knowledgeable enough to know whether my son needs the drops or not?

The hospital consultant cannot prescribe through local pharmacies. the can only advice GP's what to prescribe. It may seem a strange system but it ensures that one proessional knows just what is being prescribed rather than anybody going off and prescribing anything they feel like

somethingcorporate

Jemster01 wrote: »

I'm just glad that it's still free!

Free at the point of delivery yes, but to say it is free is naive in the maximum. It has an annual budget of upwards of £100bn and this money has to come from somewhere!

Far from free I am afriad.

pmduk

Lip_Stick wrote: »

Does this one count?

Took my son for his 6 month check with an ENT specialist. He has grommets, and one was blocked so the ENT gave me a sheet of paper with details of ear drops he'd need.

He told me I could either take it to my docs or go to somewhere like Asda if I'm registered and get it over the counter with the minor ailments scheme. I head over to Asda, wait 10 mins and go back. The assistant told me the drops couldn't be given as he has grommets and it has to be done through the docs.

I go to the docs and hand over the letter. I'm told to return after 48hrs to pick up the prescription. The doc doesn't even see my son, so what is the point in bothering going there? Surely the ENT is knowledgeable enough to know whether my son needs the drops or not?

This comes down to successive Government's obsessions with budgets being attributed to individual units. If the consultant wrote a script for you it would come out of his/her budget. To avoid that the script needs to be written at your GP practice. Yes there are additional costs involved in it. Yes it's inefficient, but that's what happens when politicians get involved in anything.

barbiedoll

It's the same joined-up thinking in action when you get a hospital prescription from A&E or an outpatient department. You can only get the prescription dispensed in the hospital pharmacy, which either has a 2 hour wait (very handy when you're paying £5 per hour to park there!:mad:) or is shut. You can then either see your GP (approx waiting time for a non-urgent appointment...2 weeks) so that he can write out a "green" prescription form, or you can go without. Why can't they just write prescriptions on one form that can be dispensed anywhere? I know that some drugs are only available from hospital pharmacies but the majority are available everywhere. It's a silly system and one which causes a lot of complaints from confused patients and carers.

The 8 month baby check always seems like an important milestone, especially if it's your first baby. The reality is nothing like you'd expect, they just ask a few questions, lecture you about feeding, sleeping etc and they used to do a cursory hearing check, not sure if they bother now as so many babies are checked at birth. When my DS had his 8 month check, there was a tv monitor in the corner of the room showing NHS "adverts", my DS, like all babies, was transfixed by the screen. The HV was banging 2 wooden bricks behind him, to test his hearing and when he ignored her, she commented that his hearing was clearly not good and warranted further investigation. I got up, turned off the tv and told her to try again, which she did, and he responded as he should. What a waste of time! :mad: