The NHS.

Hi

We think of our NHS as a World Beater.

The reality is very different .

It is a huge employer, according to some, the fifth biggest in the World, financed by the firth biggest Economy in the World.

In reality, it is a total disaster, it is incompetent, wasteful and in no way reflects what it is supposed to be.

Apologies to any Spanish and Polish on here, but they are economic basket cases compared to the UK but have infinitely better Medical Services than we here in the UK have.

You only have to read about the excellent service Mr Clumsy has had and Goldielocks writing about her experiences.

We forget what we did have, NHS Opticians, NHS Dentists, now things we pay through the nose for.

The NHS has become a Political Football, as a result it wastes a phenomenal amount of money and services have been severely degraded.

The rot was started by the Tories, John Major, with his PFI, which was then seized on by Blair and Brown.

Electoral Bribery to get the costs off the books.

PFI is a disaster, it costs us tens of Billions a year, it is not just the Rental Costs, but also the maintenance costs, over £50 to change a light bulb on some Contracts.

Judd was spot on, we are faced with closing an A E in Kirklees just to pay the costs of PFI.

We have the same issue here in Shropshire, the nearest A& E will be 30 miles away for some people.

People will die because of this.

Blair and Brown introduced a target System, which meant far more Admin people to absolutely no advantage to patients.

We have not trained enough Nurses and Doctors for over 10 years.

The focus, on Patient Care, has been lost.

An example locally, short of a Consultant in a speciality, to meet the target, we paid a German Doctor £2000 for a weekend.

A total waste of money.

One of my neighbours was paid £670 a day as an IT Consultant on an NHS Project which was then cancelled.

We pay our Doctors and Front Line Nurses far less than in some other Countries and yet do not train enough, we charge them.

On the other hand, we allow our Consultants to earn a fortune in the Private Sector instead of paying them a decent wage to work full time in the NHS.

Non Frontline Nurses we pay a fortune to, it is the same with Admin Staff.

When Public Health was transferred out from the NHS back to Local Authorities, it caused riots.

NHS Part Qualified and Admin earning £10 to £20k a year more more than fully qualified Local Authority Staff.

It is time to change the System.

First of all, scrap PFI, buy them out, it will cost us, each add every Taxpayer, around £2.80 a week for 12 years.

Much, much less if we abolish the Upper Limit for NI Contributions

Secondly, we change the entire way NHS Managers are paid.

They get a bonus for not employing Admin Staff and a Bonus for employing more front line Medical Staff.

They lose their bonus for every single delayed appointment and cancelled operation.

That will put the pressure on them.

Some of them will end up getting paid Naff All, the good ones will get paid more.

I have no problem at all with paying for results. I have every problem with paying incompetants who do not deliver.

Re: The NHS.

What a terrible idea this PFI has turned out to be. I agree we should pay them off and take it from there.
The NHS is certainly failing many and appears to be top heavy in the admin department.
Such a shame, it used to be the envy of the world.

Why did we stop training our own nurses?

Re: The NHS.

Hi

We have not stopped training them, it is just that we have now started charging them to be trained.

We should not be charging any of our youngsters in any trade which is of advantage to us.

We have a duty to help them, nurture them and provide them with opportunities to get on in life.

Re: The NHS.

My sister and also a friend trained many years ago and were paid a small amount each month until qualified.
I think sending them to university is unnecessary. College, pre nursing courses combined with the practical side of working in the hospital environment, always worked before.
Seems everyone wants to go to university now..

Re: The NHS.

Surely no one thinks that? If it was true you'd have the longest life expectancy and you don't.

The NHS is a good scheme but just one among many definitely not a world beater other European countries have more effective schemes.

Re: The NHS.

Yes, I agree with all of that, and there are far more things we need to put right in this country as well as the NHS.

Slightly off-topic, I admit, but my trouble and strife has just returned from Vienna.

She told me about their transport system: bus from the airport to the centre, the underground system and their transport infrastructure in general. It all runs like a Swiss watch. Convenient connections, running on time, cheap fares.

Then when she got back to Manchester airport, inefficient staff, rubbish and filth everywhere. Then on to the roads: cones all over the place (yet no work being done), queues everywhere.

It's depressing to think about how this country compares to other countries in Europe that we have visited.

I'm just waiting until Brexit is finalised, and the snowflakes assure us that all of this is because we had the temerity to leave the EU.

But of course, it has been like this for a long time whilst we have been in the EU, so it's no good trying to blame it on Brexit.

Re: The NHS.

Hi

Bruce, that is how it is portrayed here, and many still believe it.

Not that many years ago, it was the best, now I agree with you.

Re: The NHS.

It's all very well going on numerous `Save Our NHS` marches but the fact remains is that it's dying on its arse and there's very little that can be done to save it. Underfunded? Quite probably but where can the extra money come from to pay for all of the demands made of it? Is it really necessary for example to fund up to £20m a year to allow HIV sufferers to have unprotected sex with a partner when a box of condoms can do the same thing?

Steps MUST be taken to get rid of the anchor which is PFI, get rid of too highly paid executives and their entourages. Reduce the number of consultants and managers, shop around for cheaper drugs and keep all repairs etc in-house instead of farming out to companies who milk the system.

Re: The NHS.

Hi

Brilliant post Judd.

Commonsense rules.

Re: The NHS.

Redirection of foreign aid payments directly to the NHS.

Reduction in the number of managers.

Charging foreign health tourists.

A small charge for GP appointments and A&E to deter time wasters.

Refusal to admit drunks to A&E.

etc.