BMA chief: NHS is 'running on fumes'

[Northerner]

The NHS in England is "running on fumes", the leader of the British Medical Association is warning.

Dr Mark Porter hit out at the government at the start of the union's annual conference.

He accused ministers of putting patients at risk and "picking the pockets" of NHS staff because of the squeeze on wages.

But ministers rejected the criticisms, saying they were putting more money into the health service.

Dr Porter launched the attack as doctors gathered in Bournemouth.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-40401311

 

[mikeyB]

If they are putting more money into the NHS where is it going? I'm not asking this as a political thing, I just want to know where to expect improvements.

 

[Bill Stewardson]

The fumes mentioned are those of the private Lear jets belonging to American companies who's execs are migrating to our shores.

 

[Bill Stewardson]

If they are putting more money into the NHS where is it going? I'm not asking this as a political thing, I just want to know where to expect improvements.

Like you Mike I don't want to get into the politics angle.

Clearly our NHS is knackered. Thing which worries me being-
IF the Govt changed tomorrow the NHS is that far down the black hole it would take vast amounts of money and years to correct it.

Not sure the public would support the measures needed for such a long time.

HUGE shame and one which will adversely affect our kids kids.

 

[Ditto]

I knew the NHS was going down the drain in the 1970s when my son was in Park Hospital, birth place of the NHS. Two cleaners were desultorily carrying out their work and wiping down chairs. They cleaned one and moved a sticking plaster off it and put it on another chair which they didn't clean. Seemed to take them forever even to do this. They then spent ages chatting to one of the visitors explaining the reasoning behind this practise. The chair with the plaster on didn't get cleaned that day but the next day, when they would swap the plaster over and clean the other chair. If they just shut the **** up and got on with their work they could have cleaned all the chairs. What wages were they on I wonder? Money down the drain indeed. The memory still rankles.

 

[Bill Stewardson]

I knew the NHS was going down the drain in the 1970s when my son was in Park Hospital, birth place of the NHS. Two cleaners were desultorily carrying out their work and wiping down chairs. They cleaned one and moved a sticking plaster off it and put it on another chair which they didn't clean. Seemed to take them forever even to do this. They then spent ages chatting to one of the visitors explaining the reasoning behind this practise. The chair with the plaster on didn't get cleaned that day but the next day, when they would swap the plaster over and clean the other chair. If they just shut the **** up and got on with their work they could have cleaned all the chairs. What wages were they on I wonder? Money down the drain indeed. The memory still rankles.

I can assure you things have changed.

Now the chairs get cleaned every three days !!!

 

[Ditto]

...and the floors of the loos have dirty tissues on and stuff. You go in dock and come out with MRSA. My sister has to carry a card round since her heart attack, because they gave her a bug, no idea what! Bring back the matrons ::waves placard::

 

[Amity Island]

I knew the NHS was going down the drain in the 1970s when my son was in Park Hospital, birth place of the NHS. Two cleaners were desultorily carrying out their work and wiping down chairs. They cleaned one and moved a sticking plaster off it and put it on another chair which they didn't clean. Seemed to take them forever even to do this. They then spent ages chatting to one of the visitors explaining the reasoning behind this practise. The chair with the plaster on didn't get cleaned that day but the next day, when they would swap the plaster over and clean the other chair. If they just shut the **** up and got on with their work they could have cleaned all the chairs. What wages were they on I wonder? Money down the drain indeed. The memory still rankles.

And here's me asking why things are so bad now! NotLOL If it's been going down since the 70's no wonder things are as they now are.

 

[mikeyB]

The recent report from the Nuffield foundation, not given front page treatment in the English newspapers, said the NHS England, Wales and Northern Ireland could learn a lot from the way NHS Scotland is run.

I know I keep saying this, but it's nice to know it's official. Jeremy Hunt will completely ignore this report. NHS Scotland is far from perfect, but it isn't a shambles.

 

[Amigo]

I knew the NHS was going down the drain in the 1970s when my son was in Park Hospital, birth place of the NHS. Two cleaners were desultorily carrying out their work and wiping down chairs. They cleaned one and moved a sticking plaster off it and put it on another chair which they didn't clean. Seemed to take them forever even to do this. They then spent ages chatting to one of the visitors explaining the reasoning behind this practise. The chair with the plaster on didn't get cleaned that day but the next day, when they would swap the plaster over and clean the other chair. If they just shut the **** up and got on with their work they could have cleaned all the chairs. What wages were they on I wonder? Money down the drain indeed. The memory still rankles.

It certainly wasn't like that here during the 70's Ditto. I worked for 3 consecutive summers in my local hospital as a domestic whilst I was studying. At that time the work was in-house and the standards exacting. The domestic supervisors used to come round wearing white gloves and wiped every surface, chair, top of door and plug holes! Any sign of dirt and we were sent to do it again.i also worked in the hospital laundry and it was the job from hell with temperatures to match!
Things have changed now because domestic services have been sub contracted out. On my recent hospital stays I was astounded at the differences and lax standards. Not a domestic supervisor in sight either.

 

[Bill Stewardson]

It certainly wasn't like that here during the 70's Ditto. I worked for 3 consecutive summers in my local hospital as a domestic whilst I was studying. At that time the work was in-house and the standards exacting. The domestic supervisors used to come round wearing white gloves and wiped every surface, chair, top of door and plug holes! Any sign of dirt and we were sent to do it again.i also worked in the hospital laundry and it was the job from hell with temperatures to match!
Things have changed now because domestic services have been sub contracted out. On my recent hospital stays I was astounded at the differences and lax standards. Not a domestic supervisor in sight either.

Absolutely. Once such services were tendered out it became who ever bid the lowest got the contract. Hence standards tumbled, I saw this whilst working in the NHS for seven years.
What was arrived at was minimum waged agency staff who only did the job because they couldn't find anything else. If there was ever a problem there would be one supervisor ( minimum wage plus 10p) who was covering three or four hospitals via a van.
Heres a worrying instance that affected me, my bleep went off during the small hours one night , Cardiac Arrest, I ran to get the Crash Cart- it wasn't there, after,when I tracked why it turned out it had been used late in the afternoon shift, and as the night tech had been done away with there was nobody on site to restock it.
That's a direct risk of life to save money.

 

[Bill Stewardson]

The recent report from the Nuffield foundation, not given front page treatment in the English newspapers, said the NHS England, Wales and Northern Ireland could learn a lot from the way NHS Scotland is run.

I know I keep saying this, but it's nice to know it's official. Jeremy Hunt will completely ignore this report. NHS Scotland is far from perfect, but it isn't a shambles.

To be honest I think (with seven years of experience) that the NHS is beyond the tipping point. Keep any sort of political leaning, that organisation is doomed, the altruistic people in it have been cacked upon from a very lofty height and its unforgivable.
Learn something from Scotland, they could learn something from most supposed third world countries.