Page 1 of A real positive for the NHS

My mother in law is one of those older pensioner types that avoids going to Doctors and tries not to burden the NHS. She has paid stamps all her working life yet shuns wanting to trouble others over her health.

Well last year my wife forced her to see her doctor over cataracts in her eyes, causing deteriorating sight, and that was around December last year, and she got called in to an eye specialist in Feb in the Hospital for consultation, and operation done on her Right eye a few weeks ago, with drops required for the next five weeks.

Anyway getting to the point, there is a lot of talk about long waiting lists for operations, but this was very quick, everything went smoothly and have all the praise for the NHS. (she is now gong to get the other eye done later on in the year).

The improvement in her eye, by removal of cataracts using ultra sound and a new lens put in, is just amazing, as my mother in laws sight had deteriorated slowly for the last eight years.

Only downside now, is that she has suddenly noticed we all look a decade older .......overnight, and she likes telling me that  

I have nothing but praise for the NHS, and it is just to precious to lose from public hands, so I just hope whoever is in power soon, does not let privatisation take it over.

You may never see the big picture of the workings of the NHS, but for one individual, it is like a miracle to allow her to see her grandchildren's faces clearly.

We cannot thank the Doctors and NHS staff enough for the work they do.

No one actually wants to completely privatise the NHS, that's just Labour scaremongering and who actually privatised more services than the Coalition has done.  The point with any public sector organisation though is that there are always things that can be done cheaper or more efficiently with the same quality.

Glad it's worked for you.

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Si Wooldridge
Reviewer

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Quote:
Si Wooldridge says...
"The point with any public sector organisation though is that there are always things that can be done cheaper or more efficiently with the same quality."
I think you can argue though, especially if you talk to people who work in the NHS, that very rarely is stuff done more efficiently with the same quality when the private sector gets involved.

There clearly was a time when many public sector workers were nicely paid, with jobs for life (and the attitudes that went with it) and comfortable pensions. Contracting out services stopped a lot of that, but it's added it's own set of problems.


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Agreed.  As a public sector worker myself now of some 10 years standing after working in the private sector, there are efficiencies that can be made on all sides.  It's never a case of public sector bad, private sector good.

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Si Wooldridge
Reviewer

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I'd love to get a load of semi-retired smart businessmen with consciences together to create registered charities that bid against private sector services for the NHS and local government, and made well run sustainable alternatives.

I think that would be the ideal solution to it all, no profits involved, clear transparency on wages, and a maximum wage gap between the highest paid and lowest in the company, with the safety net that if you are failing to provide the service threat of private company competition (or even alternative charities) would keep you on your toes.

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Profits can be good, they give accountability which the public sector sorely lacks.

The problem comes when profits come before all else.

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Si Wooldridge
Reviewer

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Services and profits should be mutually exclusive, especially when it comes to non-elective health. We're in a world where it's more lucrative for pharmaceutical companies to treat a disease than it is to cure it. Take HIV/AIDS, which currently costs around £18,000 a year. Over a lifetime that runs into several hundred thousand pounds.

How much would a one-time vaccine cost? What makes more profit for the pharmaceuticals? Do you think they invest more into research for a cure, or for a treatment?

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Jitendar Canth

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Interesting call from a senior NHS doctor the other night to 5Live.

Why don't the NHS do what the likes of Tesco do and name the price they'll pay for equipment instead of having lots of smaller trusts all bidding for the same stuff.

Snaps

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Quote:
Snaps says...
"Interesting call from a senior NHS doctor the other night to 5Live.

Why don't the NHS do what the likes of Tesco do and name the price they'll pay for equipment instead of having lots of smaller trusts all bidding for the same stuff."
Does he not realise how squeezed traders like farmers are due to this strategy, despite the massive profits?

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Si Wooldridge
Reviewer

http://synth.myreviewer.com

Quote:
Jitendar Canth says...
"How much would a one-time vaccine cost? What makes more profit for the pharmaceuticals? Do you think they invest more into research for a cure, or for a treatment?"
No idea, not a big fan of pharmaceutical companies.


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Si Wooldridge
Reviewer

http://synth.myreviewer.com