Monday 16 January 2012

NHS

I heard on the news today that employees should be given the opportunity to have shares in the company's they work for.  Most of us do or have paid money into the NHS as tax payers so does that mean we have a share and even more so a say in what is done?  Surely we must if politicians are to be listened to.

Therefore, we as a nation, should have a say in how the NHS is run, its publicly owned in essence yet its totally ran by bureaucrats that do not do anything in the interest of the patient or the employee.

I have often said that why do the aged have to be put in residential homes with 30 other inmates, yet if they were mentally handicapped they get to live in a 3 or 4 bed home with carers.  Surely it would be nicer if this could happen, especially to those with dementia, to be housed this way, then it would be more like a family atmosphere rather than 'Waiting for God' and probably a lot cheaper, if ran correctly and not privately owned.

Large units don't work, they shut down hospital style places for the mentally incapable because they were institutionalised and took away the person's human rights, (not that many of the patients knew their human rights) yet we are still quite happy to throw our old age pensioners into them! Although they are called residential homes. 

Most of the pensioners today are the ones that worked in terrible conditions, came through the war, knew what poor meant and are treated terribly by each government that has been in power.

This Human Rights law has gone to far but that's for another Rant.  Our NHS should be there to ensure that rich or poor the same treatment is given, not just in one area either, but the whole of the country.  This post code lottery is still going on and is totally wrong.

Large corporations set up budgets yearly for what they think they can spend, in large corporations they ensure they spend the budgets in case the next year they get cropped.  Where is the incentive in saving money there, what should happen is if the budget allocated isn't spent it gets held for that department and the budget for the next year isn't reduced but kept the same or increased in line with inflation.  Therefore funds are available and not wasted.

The NHS may end up being split into 2 tiers, part private and part NHS, if you don't have insurance you will be treated but may not get the best in meds or surgery - don't quote me here as I'm not an expert.  In the United States if you have insurance they give you better care, if you don't you are patched up and sent home. 

We know our NHS is costing a fortune, it doesn't help when managers are ran by managers who are again managed by managers.  They set up trusts to run the finance yet each hospital has its own finance department so why burden a system with all these accounts and finance directors?  Savings could be made in overheads much easier than in running costs.

We have closed A& E's across the country so more people have to travel further to larger hospitals.  I can understand the choice of large hospitals as more cases come through the doors and doctors\surgeons can specialise more and learn easier more efficient ways to treat a condition.  Has closing A & E's saved money, I doubt it as urgent care centres have had to be opened to replace them.

Also how do they rationalise the cost of things, the staff are employed so wages are already paid, so why are operations expensive?  Yes I know if its a hip replacement they need spare parts, but to remove a gall bladder or fix a hernia - where do the extra costs come from.  The theatres are all kitted out.

Our whole country is going to the dogs, what this country needs is a backbone.  Every party produces their manifesto of what they are going to do in power, anyone can say what the voters want to hear, but as soon as they get into the seats they do nothing promised.  Its about time Governments were made to stick to the manifesto and if they don't do as said they should be fired. 

Most of the people who run this country have never had to earn a living in the REAL WORLD, We need people with experience of life sitting in these government chairs, not some one who debated at college and then went straight to Whitehall.

Come on Britain lets become GREAT again and show the rest of the world how to look after their health instead of becoming a third world service.

Private health should be totally separate to national health, Private health is there as a benefit for people who need to fit operations in on a certain time, or for the vain to have face lifts and boob jobs, it should not be for everyday health issues.

The government have us over a barrel, its not like we can even refuse to pay our Taxes because they are deducted on our earnings. 

Lets hope Dr's and nurses around the country can find away to stop us losing our NHS, without striking, that only hurts the population and damages their reputations, but somehow there has to be away to make Government fund the NHS where its needed, ground level and get rid of most of the Directors of Food Management, Directors of Cleanliness, Directors of whatever else they created.