Why is the NHS failing ?

[muddy]

Once the envy of the world the NHS is failing .
Successive governments have poured lots of money into the NHS .
So why is it failing ? 
It works very well in Spain and other countries in Europe why not the U.K. ? 

[Scrumpy]

Because there are greedy people who scoop the cream from the top...
 

[klondike]

Over and poorly managed. As is anything which is essentially controlled by bureaucrats.

[muddy]

Do you think we the aging population are a contributing factor ?

[CHF]

Over and poorly managed. As is anything which is essentially controlled by bureaucrats.

Precisely!

[klondike]

Certainly can't help that it takes forever for the NHS and councils to move people of of hospital to care homes but I think it goes further than that. It isn't only the UK that has an ageing population it's true of all of Europeans. Not breeding fast enough leads to the demographic we see .
Blame...
reliable contraception
women's liberation
the need for two to work full time to support any family at all
the cost of childcare

It would be possible to go on for a very long time listing what has changed during our lifetimes that contributes to that situation but other countries cope and often better than we do. There needs to be a careful study of how others handle healthcare. The trouble is changing anything within the NHS meets with stiff resistance along with accusations of privatisation. The fact is government run organisations are never efficient. Private ones have to be or they go out of business.

[GrannyMac]

*Expectations have risen about what the NHS should provide
*It's not just about 'health' now - want to change gender? 
*Some of our newer arrivals block up A&E in groups rather than go to a GP singly
*Our mental health provision only seems to kick in when there's a crisis 

I have to give 10/10 for my recent surgery, my new knee has been great!  👍🏽 

[klondike]

My mother collapsed at home and was in hospital for 5 months. It wasn't for several months that they figured out she had spinal cancer. I'm not sure exactly when as they never told us and I don't think they told her either. The way we found out was when a Macmillan nurse appeared.

Initially they thought it was a heart problem and safter a week sent her to Oxford. When she got there they found she had impacted constipation which it took them over a week to shift before they could do the tests which then showed she had no heart problem at all and she was returned. She had an abysmal time there as the pain meant she spent most of the time in a chair rather than the bed. I'm uncertain why but she had problems swallowing but they just dumped food on her tray which was out of her reach and she wouldn't have been able to eat most of it anyway.

There was a lot more. After she died a couple of days after she got to the nursing home and the first time I'd seen her smile in months I wrote a lengthy complaint. I got a reply right at the end of the window for them to resolve complaints, It was to say that they needed more time. When it did arrive it was a complete whitewash. I know when I'm beaten and gave up.

A friend's son suffered severe brain damage, Periodically he has to go to the hospital and just about every time he ends up with sepsis.

Now for some personal experiencs..

After my first operation by the NHS for a broken Achilles tendon where it was an emergency (they have to be fixed within 24 hours or the operation fails for some reason or so I was told)  I have made sure my other surgery which was all elective has been with a local private hospital using Patient Choice. You get the consultants from  your local hospital doing the operation and they actually spend time discussing it with you. I don't think I even saw the NHS surgeon for the tendon op. Aftercare was terrible. When the plaster was eventually removed not all the stitching was taken out and I got some out myself at home.

You need to be fit to survive Northampton General. This was the one where some nurses were  disciplined for flashing their tits on Facebook. The problem was apparently that some patients in the background could be identified. Another claim to fame was that a patient shot and killed  himself on a ward with a pistol that had been smuggled in.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/facebook-banned-in-hospital-after-nurse-343672

https://hospitalhealthcare.com/news/ward-reopens-after-gun-suicide/

I have heard numerous stories about the place from others.

[Scrumpy]

There are more (convenient)illnesses now then there has ever been.. eg: breakdowns.. troubled mind..
There are bigger families now.. and because the 2 cap children is no-more they will get even larger..
People go to A& E with a sore finger ..
Patients expect their doctors and clinics to be miracle workers..
People abuse their bodies with drugs and alcohol..
They also have dodgy work done elsewhere and expect the NHS to pick up the bill when all fails..
Foreigners pop over for expensive treatment .. then pop back.. I am sure not all bills are paid..
And their are those who steal vast amounts of (items) from hospitals.. costing thousands..
And half the population seem to have some sort of disability that needs ( treatment)..

We were healthier way back because we lived a more simple life.. And no work.. no money..
We are a country of wussies..

[Ashy]

Something is wrong when sick people are informed by a highly technical system that the current wait in A&E is 17hours 25minutes. 

This is partly because there aren't enough GPs so for many this is how they have to see a doctor.

Partly because hospitals were rationalised in the 1970s and smaller hospitals have no A&E.

Partly because the NHS has not kept up with an expanding population.

Partly because nobody cares.

Partly because the government controls which drugs need a prescription.

It probably needs someone like Dr Beeching or Elon Musk to study it and make it work for the people who have to use it. 

[GrannyMac]

Your mum had dreadful treatment klondike. 

I think all the comments are valid.   Although I was happy with my surgery, I wasn't happy with the way I was dismissed at the start of my problems three years previously. An X-ray at the start would have meant no pointless physio that I couldn't do, and I could have thrown away my stick and been pain free much sooner.  The consultant surgeon agreed, I'm now on a patient pathway, if my other knee develops the same symptoms, I go directly to his team. Sensible. I'm in a city with two major hospitals, a separate children's hospital, and a specialist cancer hospital, there's also a central walk in GP service.  Probably better served than most, although it's patchy. The GP service was messed up by a certain T Blair, and it's got worse since Covid. 

My daughter is a nurse, at a pretty senior level, she's worked in many hospitals across the UK and abroad.  She feels the NHS won't last long in its present form.

[CHF]

Too many chiefs and not enough indians. Plus, the NHS is a political football.

[klondike]

The real question though is can it be fixed? 
It is consuming billions and producing worse outcomes than other European systems. In its current format it is a voracious money pit that is letting us all down. IMO this is nothing new as it has been failing for quite a while. Well in my area it has anyway. The General Hospital is a hotchpotch of Victorian buildings with added bits and pieces all over the place seemingly at random. It's a nightmare even finding some departments tucked away like a prize in a maze. Some are OK that are off a very long corridor joining many sections but if it's only a small section the best of luck.

Waiting area for A&E...



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