UK Hospitals ? ?
- Thread starter cciaffone
- Start date
happyjack
Dedicated Member
The big problem here is that too many people are going to A&E when they all they need is a GP assessment and of course there is always the week-end drunks clogging up the system. There are a lot of selfish people about and they only think of themselves not about someone who really needs the emergency services.
There I feel better now that`s off my chest (without going to A&E):unhappy:
There I feel better now that`s off my chest (without going to A&E):unhappy:
Its always the same this time of year, winter see's more bugs. We have a norovirus that goes round this time of year and the flu bug of cause and as Happyjack said people using the wrong services instead of going to clinics or GPs they go to A&E unnecessarily and yes the drunks are a pain in the bottle opener.!!!!
dick
LOTSW Fanatic
Add to that is the fact that my local A and E is the central one for this district. People 15 to 20 miles away who had a local one of their own are now coming to this" central" A&E because their own is closed or downgraded. This was done in the name of efficiency and cost cutting.
For many years our NHS has been overwhelmed with extra staff,the problem is they are all managers,where the actual medically trained workforce has dropped,billions of pounds has been pumped into the NHS but the powers that be cannot work out why it is failing. On top of this the local Doctors surgeries are run by managers who again have no medical skills,the surgeries in general are only open Monday to Friday with just the odd few that open on a Saturday Morning,no night or weekend cover from the local GP's which must add the the burden of A&E,many folk complain it is almost impossible to get an appointment to see their GP within 5-7 working days,so some of these folk get to the point they have to visit A&E for treatment.
The added problems with drunks at the weekend clogging up the system does not help but with Pubs and Clubs open 24 hours it is no big surprise,our governments bleat about it but at the same time rub their hands with all the lovely tax revenue from Alcohol, it is the same with smoking they claim they want folk to stop and that it cost around 2 billion a year to treat smoking related problems but don't mention the 14 billion tax revenue that smokers hand over every year
The added problems with drunks at the weekend clogging up the system does not help but with Pubs and Clubs open 24 hours it is no big surprise,our governments bleat about it but at the same time rub their hands with all the lovely tax revenue from Alcohol, it is the same with smoking they claim they want folk to stop and that it cost around 2 billion a year to treat smoking related problems but don't mention the 14 billion tax revenue that smokers hand over every year
happyjack
Dedicated Member
I do not have trouble seeing a doctor within 24 hours because I do not care whether I see my own doctor or another. All my details are on computer so any doctor can treat me with the information that is there. We also have a duty doctor at the surgery twice a day where you can just drop in. If I want to see my own doctor thats a different story. No complaints here.
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Since my doctors closed down and I registered with another one I've had no trouble, sometimes the appointment has been at 7am but thats fine by me. Ringing my dads is a nightmare but you do get in.
dick
LOTSW Fanatic
We have to queue at the door at 8-30 before we can get in . You have to ring up early to get an appointment for the duty doctor and be prepared for a good wait!!
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We are lucky with our Doctors, there are only two of them and in our small village they open at 10.30 until 2pm, at most times you can call at 10.30 and see one of the doctors the same day or make an appointment the next day,if urgent they will try and see you at the larger surgery some 5 miles away if they cannot see you at the local surgery
Our previous surgery in Yorkshire was terrible, you had to call at 08.30 and even if you managed to get through at that time they rarely had any appointments for any of the 8 doctors,so you had to try again the next day,maybe by the end of the week you may just get in to see one of the doctors,if the doctor said he wanted to see you again in 2 weeks,you would go to reception and tell them this,they would not make an appointment just said you would have to call on the day and you knew full well that they would have nothing available,so you had to make sure the doctor himself made you the return appointment while you were in with them,so if he could do it why would reception not do it
Our previous surgery in Yorkshire was terrible, you had to call at 08.30 and even if you managed to get through at that time they rarely had any appointments for any of the 8 doctors,so you had to try again the next day,maybe by the end of the week you may just get in to see one of the doctors,if the doctor said he wanted to see you again in 2 weeks,you would go to reception and tell them this,they would not make an appointment just said you would have to call on the day and you knew full well that they would have nothing available,so you had to make sure the doctor himself made you the return appointment while you were in with them,so if he could do it why would reception not do it
brendalovescompo
Dedicated Member
Is this common practice, or just in your area? That is awful not able to make a 2 week appt. I am overdue for physical,my fault not scheduling it. My physician only does 2 physicals a day, I cannot get it until May 19th!!!!!!! Of course if I was ill I could probably get in within 2 -3 days to see him, but don't mind seeing a Physicians assistant, they give the same treatment and meds needed.
I see UK has the same practices as here in the US. Salaries increasing for the administrators and laying off the workers. (dr and nurses).
After what everyone has said I would never like the system you have in the States, having read that your employer is having a say in what treatment woman can have based on their religious beliefs is just horrifying, sitting in A&E filling out form and hoping the insurance will pay for everything would only add to the stress.
It may take a while to get through to the surgery and you may not always get to see the doctor you want but we get seen and we don't have to worry about the cost. I wouldn't swap my NHS for anything.
Marianna
Dedicated Member
If I lived in the UK, I wouldn't either, having had experience with the NHS on several occasions. And if the Affordable Care Law (known to its opponents as 'Obama Care') ever realizes its potential and bypasses the insurance companies by at least allowing a single-payer option, we might begin to get the level of care that the NHS provides, at a lower cost for both the insured and the insurer. We have some distance to go before rising to the NHS level of care. I hope, though, that we'll learn from the UK and hire more medical practitioners, with an incentive to practice in under-served areas, rather than hiring more managers.
When I was a child and young adult, before the days of health insurance, my 'own' doctor could always work me in during office hours to deal with acute illness because fewer people could afford to see a doctor, so he just wasn't so busy. If he was on vacation, one of his two partners covered for him. Now more people can afford to see a doctor, so the offices are much busier, and even busier still since the first of last year when the Affordable Care Law went into effect. The doctors take care of the most complicated problems while the nurse practitioners and physicians' assistants see everyone else. I long ago got over feeling slighted by being directed to a nurse practitioner, to the point that I now see the same one routinely. She can still work patients with acute illness in right away and if the problem is too complicated for her to deal with she refers to a physician, if the patient won't be harmed by waiting for the appointment, or to the hospital emergency room if treatment is needed right away.
And in this part of the States, outside of normal office hours, but not during the night, there are a couple of acute care walk-in clinics staffed by nurse practitioners under the umbrella of the region's two large medical practices. As a last resort, there's the emergency room at our brand-new local hospital that replaced an older landlocked building with grossly inadequate parking. Its emergency room is extremely efficient, and all the rooms are private so if a patient has to be admitted he/she avoids the discomfort of sharing a room. There's a helicopter pad near the emergency room entrance for quick transfers to specialized hospitals. This area, at least, is very well cared for.
Marianna
Adanor
Dedicated Member
OK, let me explain. Hobby Lobby is a Christian hobby store (kiddie airplane kits, etc.). So with the advent of Obama Care, the company was required to pay for abortions and morning after pills, something that they had never paid for previously. And that was what the court case was all about. If I trod on any toes, please forgive me.
Marianna
Dedicated Member
Prior to the Affordable Care Law, many companies' insurance plans didn't cover prescription contraception, or the morning after pill and abortions, on the same principle as not covering elective surgery. Several years ago my nephew and his wife were thrilled that when he changed jobs his new employer covered her prescription contraception. His former employer is a small private company and the owners have no particular religious affiliation that they've made public, so that wasn't the reason for excluding that coverage. They don't pay very well, either, so apparently they're just cheap.
Marianna