In reply to Post #15
Unlike your good self I'm not a fan of Stella, "crave"🤣🤣🤣
Unlike your good self I'm not a fan of Stella, "crave"🤣🤣🤣
So...
The basics are - the NHS is poorly managed. On a local and government level. And it's underfunded. And nurses aren't the problem but middle managers are.
.no need for 9000 posts to uncover those startling revelations eh?
The basics are - the NHS is poorly managed. On a local and government level. And it's underfunded. And nurses aren't the problem but middle managers are.
.no need for 9000 posts to uncover those startling revelations eh?
In reply to Post #16
Yep crave, not to be confused with craven, which is how I'd describe you and this thread
Yep crave, not to be confused with craven, which is how I'd describe you and this thread
In reply to Post #18
Bit early to be on the Stella mate, if you carry on like that you'll only end up adding yourself to the NHS workload. 👍
Bit early to be on the Stella mate, if you carry on like that you'll only end up adding yourself to the NHS workload. 👍
In reply to Post #17
It's been crap for years I remember in 2006 it nearly cost me my life because of the waiting time for a diagnosis..
I was fortunate to have had private health if I hadn't I'm not sure I'd be here today...
Paying staff more money is not the answer privatization is imho.
Also get a team in from the private sector to manage it to end the waste.
It's been crap for years I remember in 2006 it nearly cost me my life because of the waiting time for a diagnosis..
I was fortunate to have had private health if I hadn't I'm not sure I'd be here today...
Paying staff more money is not the answer privatization is imho.
Also get a team in from the private sector to manage it to end the waste.
In reply to Post #20
Even true Blue Kieth has started to tell the truth about the NHS these day's.
Even true Blue Kieth has started to tell the truth about the NHS these day's.
In reply to Post #20
But.....
it was labour in power in 2006
But.....
it was labour in power in 2006
I've private medical through work which does help you get seen quicker. I currently have cancer and the NHS (not private) fast track system is absolutely superb from diagnosis to surgery to radio/ chemo to after care. If only the rest of the NHS could perform to the same level.
In reply to Post #23
Sorry to hear that, hope you get an all clear very soon.
Sorry to hear that, hope you get an all clear very soon.
In reply to Post #23
Very true, I've always found the NHS next to useless, but when I got a lumpy gonad checked out I had an ultrasound and given an all clear the same day
Hope all goes well for you
Very true, I've always found the NHS next to useless, but when I got a lumpy gonad checked out I had an ultrasound and given an all clear the same day
Hope all goes well for you
In reply to Post #25
I think you've hit the nail on the head, I went through an awful spell of 12 retinal tears over a 2 year period.
Yes, it took a few hours waiting an A&E but once it had been diagnoses I was in for surgery on every occasion the following day.
My local hospital (weston super mare) now shuts overnight, since COVID if you go in with an injury such as a fracture, you get sent 15 miles up the road.
The fundamentals are still there, my father collapsed recently, following day surgery and pacemaker fitted.
The biggest issue is the front line is no longer there
I think you've hit the nail on the head, I went through an awful spell of 12 retinal tears over a 2 year period.
Yes, it took a few hours waiting an A&E but once it had been diagnoses I was in for surgery on every occasion the following day.
My local hospital (weston super mare) now shuts overnight, since COVID if you go in with an injury such as a fracture, you get sent 15 miles up the road.
The fundamentals are still there, my father collapsed recently, following day surgery and pacemaker fitted.
The biggest issue is the front line is no longer there
In reply to Post #1
If it was a business it would have been folded ten times over in the last ten years.
Zero incentive for home grown nurses and doctors, plus there's too many chiefs and not enough indians.
If it was a business it would have been folded ten times over in the last ten years.
Zero incentive for home grown nurses and doctors, plus there's too many chiefs and not enough indians.
In reply to Post #27
The NHS is being privatised
Myth
Some, mainly left-wing, commentators have argued for many years that the NHS is being privatised.
The facts
Private companies have always played a role in the NHS, with services such as dentistry, optical care and community pharmacy being provided by the private sector for decades, and most GP practices are private partnerships. The NHS and the private sector have also established partnerships for the delivery of clinical services such as radiology and pathology and non-clinical services such as car parking and management of buildings and the estate, while independent hospitals have been used under successive governments to provide additional capacity in response to pressures on NHS services.
Identifying how much the NHS spends on the private sector is not straightforward but estimates can be made using data from the annual accounts of the Department of Health and Social Care.
...spending by NHS commissioners on services delivered by the private sector increased to £12.2 billion in 2020/21. However... this again represents only around 7 per cent of the total Department of Health and Social Care revenue budget.
Following the Health and Social Care Act 2012, which extended market-based principles and introduced more competition into the NHS, the number of contracts awarded to private providers increased. However, this did not lead to an increase in the proportion of the NHS budget spent on private providers, in large part because the majority of contracts tended to be smaller than those awarded to NHS providers. In 2019/20, before the pandemic, NHS commissioners spent £9.7 billion, or 7.2 per cent of the Department of Health and Social Care revenue budget on services delivered by the private sector. This proportion has remained largely unchanged since 2012.
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department of Health and Social Care and the NHS entered into new contractual arrangements with the independent hospital sector to increase capacity. These arrangements provided access to additional beds, staff and equipment to treat patients during the peak of the pandemic and are being used now in some places to support efforts to reduce how long people wait for routine care. As a result, spending by NHS commissioners on services delivered by the private sector increased to £12.2 billion in 2020/21. However, in the context of the significant additional funding provided in response to the pandemic, this again represents only around 7 per cent of the total Department of Health and Social Care revenue budget.
The Health and Care Act 2022 removed the competition and market-based approaches introduced by the 2012 Act. This gives commissioners greater flexibility over when to use competitive procurement processes, reducing the frequency with which clinical services are put out to tender and allowing contracts to be rolled over where the existing provider, most likely to be an NHS provider, is doing a good job.
Verdict
There is no evidence of widespread privatisation of NHS services. The proportion of the NHS budget spent on services delivered by the private sector has remained broadly stable over the past decade.
The NHS is being privatised
Myth
Some, mainly left-wing, commentators have argued for many years that the NHS is being privatised.
The facts
Private companies have always played a role in the NHS, with services such as dentistry, optical care and community pharmacy being provided by the private sector for decades, and most GP practices are private partnerships. The NHS and the private sector have also established partnerships for the delivery of clinical services such as radiology and pathology and non-clinical services such as car parking and management of buildings and the estate, while independent hospitals have been used under successive governments to provide additional capacity in response to pressures on NHS services.
Identifying how much the NHS spends on the private sector is not straightforward but estimates can be made using data from the annual accounts of the Department of Health and Social Care.
...spending by NHS commissioners on services delivered by the private sector increased to £12.2 billion in 2020/21. However... this again represents only around 7 per cent of the total Department of Health and Social Care revenue budget.
Following the Health and Social Care Act 2012, which extended market-based principles and introduced more competition into the NHS, the number of contracts awarded to private providers increased. However, this did not lead to an increase in the proportion of the NHS budget spent on private providers, in large part because the majority of contracts tended to be smaller than those awarded to NHS providers. In 2019/20, before the pandemic, NHS commissioners spent £9.7 billion, or 7.2 per cent of the Department of Health and Social Care revenue budget on services delivered by the private sector. This proportion has remained largely unchanged since 2012.
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department of Health and Social Care and the NHS entered into new contractual arrangements with the independent hospital sector to increase capacity. These arrangements provided access to additional beds, staff and equipment to treat patients during the peak of the pandemic and are being used now in some places to support efforts to reduce how long people wait for routine care. As a result, spending by NHS commissioners on services delivered by the private sector increased to £12.2 billion in 2020/21. However, in the context of the significant additional funding provided in response to the pandemic, this again represents only around 7 per cent of the total Department of Health and Social Care revenue budget.
The Health and Care Act 2022 removed the competition and market-based approaches introduced by the 2012 Act. This gives commissioners greater flexibility over when to use competitive procurement processes, reducing the frequency with which clinical services are put out to tender and allowing contracts to be rolled over where the existing provider, most likely to be an NHS provider, is doing a good job.
Verdict
There is no evidence of widespread privatisation of NHS services. The proportion of the NHS budget spent on services delivered by the private sector has remained broadly stable over the past decade.
In reply to Post #1
Oh no, not the too many managers myth being independently assessed.
Myth
The NHS is sometimes characterised as being over-managed, inefficient and wasteful.
The facts
Measuring the productivity of the NHS over time can be difficult, as full data on the volume and quality of the outputs and outcomes the NHS produces are not always available. However, a study by the University of York's Centre for Health Economics found that NHS productivity increased by 16.5 per cent between 2004/05 and 2016/17 compared to productivity growth of only 6.7 per cent in the economy as a whole. This averaged at a year-on-year growth in productivity of 1.3 per cent.
The NHS is one of the largest and most complex organisations in the world. Yet, evidence indicates that it employs relatively few managers, with one study recently suggesting that managers make up around 2 per cent of the NHS workforce compared to 9.5 per cent of ‘managers, directors and senior officials' in the UK workforce as a whole.
The NHS compares well with other health systems, coming 4th out of 11 systems for efficiency in the Commonwealth Fund analysis.
The NHS compares well with other health systems, coming 4th out of 11 systems for efficiency in the Commonwealth Fund analysis. It also compares well on other key indicators of productivity such as the average length of stay in hospital and the proportion of drugs that are prescribed in their (cheaper) generic form instead of the (more expensive) branded version.
There is no doubt that the NHS can do more to improve productivity and reduce unwarranted variation in how services are delivered. For example, Lord Carter of Coles estimated that reducing unwarranted variation in procurement and delivery of hospital care could save around £5 billion each year. The Getting it Right First Time programme has also shown that significant gains can be made by reducing variation in the delivery of clinical services.
At the same time, the NHS is operating in a context of intense pressure on services, with high levels of staff vacancies, growing waiting times for care and very high hospital bed occupancy. These factors combine to reflect a system that is ‘running hot', with little capacity to focus on improvement and efficiencies. Against this background, the government has doubled the annual efficiency target for the service from 1.1 per cent to 2.2 percent, aiming to deliver an annual saving of £4.75 billion without setting out a plan for achieving this.
Verdict
As the former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Sajid Javid, said recently, the NHS is already one of the more efficient health services in the world, and evidence suggests it is far from being over-managed. While it can, and must, do more to improve productivity, it is hard to see how current efficiency targets can be met.
Oh no, not the too many managers myth being independently assessed.
Myth
The NHS is sometimes characterised as being over-managed, inefficient and wasteful.
The facts
Measuring the productivity of the NHS over time can be difficult, as full data on the volume and quality of the outputs and outcomes the NHS produces are not always available. However, a study by the University of York's Centre for Health Economics found that NHS productivity increased by 16.5 per cent between 2004/05 and 2016/17 compared to productivity growth of only 6.7 per cent in the economy as a whole. This averaged at a year-on-year growth in productivity of 1.3 per cent.
The NHS is one of the largest and most complex organisations in the world. Yet, evidence indicates that it employs relatively few managers, with one study recently suggesting that managers make up around 2 per cent of the NHS workforce compared to 9.5 per cent of ‘managers, directors and senior officials' in the UK workforce as a whole.
The NHS compares well with other health systems, coming 4th out of 11 systems for efficiency in the Commonwealth Fund analysis.
The NHS compares well with other health systems, coming 4th out of 11 systems for efficiency in the Commonwealth Fund analysis. It also compares well on other key indicators of productivity such as the average length of stay in hospital and the proportion of drugs that are prescribed in their (cheaper) generic form instead of the (more expensive) branded version.
There is no doubt that the NHS can do more to improve productivity and reduce unwarranted variation in how services are delivered. For example, Lord Carter of Coles estimated that reducing unwarranted variation in procurement and delivery of hospital care could save around £5 billion each year. The Getting it Right First Time programme has also shown that significant gains can be made by reducing variation in the delivery of clinical services.
At the same time, the NHS is operating in a context of intense pressure on services, with high levels of staff vacancies, growing waiting times for care and very high hospital bed occupancy. These factors combine to reflect a system that is ‘running hot', with little capacity to focus on improvement and efficiencies. Against this background, the government has doubled the annual efficiency target for the service from 1.1 per cent to 2.2 percent, aiming to deliver an annual saving of £4.75 billion without setting out a plan for achieving this.
Verdict
As the former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Sajid Javid, said recently, the NHS is already one of the more efficient health services in the world, and evidence suggests it is far from being over-managed. While it can, and must, do more to improve productivity, it is hard to see how current efficiency targets can be met.
In reply to Post #29
"Myth
The NHS is sometimes characterised as being over-managed, inefficient and wasteful"
Myth? Lets look at the heirachy of an NHS trust in South Warwickshire for example.
Chief Executive
Managing Director
Director of Finance
Director of Nursing
Director of Development
Director of Operations
Director of Human Resources
Medical Director
Chief Technology Officer
Director Chairman
Non-Executive Director
Non-Executive Director
Nominated Non-Executive Director
Non-Executive Director
Non-Executive Director
Operational Chief Medical Officer
Non-Executive Director
Chief Strategy Officer
Chief Commissioning Officer
Non-Executive Director
Chief People Officer
Non-Executive Director
There are also an additional 5 or 6 directors in unpaid roles sticking their oar in.
https://www.swft.nhs.uk/application/files/4916/7049/5908/SWFT_Register_of_Directors_Interests_November_2022.pdf
The above is a list of their financial interests. This is the management of just ONE small NHS trust. There are 217 NHS trusts in this country.
On the NHS jobs website, there are currently 2500 Band 3 roles being sought. However, there are also 3000 Band 7 roles.
What do we need more of, Band 3 healthcare assistants taking your bloods for cancer treatment, or a director on £120k who's son is employed by Deloitte to conduct external auditing?
217 trusts. 217.
"Myth
The NHS is sometimes characterised as being over-managed, inefficient and wasteful"
Myth? Lets look at the heirachy of an NHS trust in South Warwickshire for example.
Chief Executive
Managing Director
Director of Finance
Director of Nursing
Director of Development
Director of Operations
Director of Human Resources
Medical Director
Chief Technology Officer
Director Chairman
Non-Executive Director
Non-Executive Director
Nominated Non-Executive Director
Non-Executive Director
Non-Executive Director
Operational Chief Medical Officer
Non-Executive Director
Chief Strategy Officer
Chief Commissioning Officer
Non-Executive Director
Chief People Officer
Non-Executive Director
There are also an additional 5 or 6 directors in unpaid roles sticking their oar in.
https://www.swft.nhs.uk/application/files/4916/7049/5908/SWFT_Register_of_Directors_Interests_November_2022.pdf
The above is a list of their financial interests. This is the management of just ONE small NHS trust. There are 217 NHS trusts in this country.
On the NHS jobs website, there are currently 2500 Band 3 roles being sought. However, there are also 3000 Band 7 roles.
What do we need more of, Band 3 healthcare assistants taking your bloods for cancer treatment, or a director on £120k who's son is employed by Deloitte to conduct external auditing?
217 trusts. 217.