How do you begin to tackle the immediate crisis facing the NHS, the huge waiting lists that stubbornly refuse to come down, so that the focus can switch to long-term goals?
Yes agree with all those ideas and sure they would make lots of significant improvements if introduced. However there are just as much waste in the private medicine world that could help speed up the process and make efficiencies.
It's impotent to take the best suggestions from both sides and then incorporate them quickly.
Keep up the good work Rory always appreciate it what your doing.
Provide every adult patient with a NHS account start-up balance of say £100, to which a credit is given for attending a scheduled appointment, and from which a deduction is made for each DNA. When the balance is zero they will be booked automatically onto an attendance awareness course.
Yesterday I attended a clinic at my local hospital. This was “arranged” many weeks ago by which I mean that the hospital sent me a letter telling me of the date and time and of the clinic involved but not the name of the clinician (who I assumed would be one I had met at a previous clinic). After an hour and several reminders of my name and the clinic time I was seen by a different clinician and by the Parkinson’s nurse, whom I had met before. She did not know the name of the clinician who I saw yesterday (over an hour after the original time), He explained that the clinician I was due to see had a patient with complex needs to whom she had to give priority.
The original letter telling me of the appointment was followed by several text messages, a confirmatory letter to my NHS app and text messages yesterday morning and the day before. None of them gave the name of the clinician I was due to see, nor any indication that she might not be able to see me.
There have to be better ways of running this system. How about finding out whether the date and time were acceptable (I would have preferred a change, but the NHS appointments system does not encourage this)? How about a warning of the patient before me having complex needs? How about reducing the number of reminders?
I have not yet seen the report of the meeting yesterday (which I am confident will be sent ti the former senior partner of my GP practice, who retired many years ago).
I have an appointment in January to see the Parkinson’s nurse. There will be the usual deluge of reminders, and the usual warnings about the results of changing the appointment.
Very interesting, as usual. Thank you for this. I'm sure you are right that there should be more admin assistance in hospitals.As a former medical secretary myself (in the 1970s), I am sure that we did very valuable work, freeing up the medical staff to do the work they were trained for. We were always considered second class citizens!!
So agree with the point about DNA. My husband and I have recently had notification of Covid boosters for a time when we are away. Three separate half hours on the phone to rearrange with no answer, filled in an online request for them to contact us. Result: nothing and two missed appointments.
This is quite often the default option on the list when appointments are changed or cancelled. I had a warning letter after 3 ENT appointments postponed , with 6 monthly intervals between. I hadn't cancelled. Records were checked Profusely apologies from department. Consultant took holidays every 6 months. Appointment of my choosing resulted
The situation at the present time is very worrying. Our next generation of doctors have experienced Covid ( very damaging to frontal lobe pathways), a global crisis with warming of the planet, energy crisis and the demands of an aging population. The NHS in understaffed, chronically under resourced, reliant on locum staff, endured management That are often devoid of any real understanding of the arena they manage. Hence the seeming waste in repeated reminders to attend appointments , poorconsistency in their care in care and the human aspect of being unwell being relegated to the bottom of priorities. I’ve worked as an NHS consultant and also experienced good Care and poor care in the NHS. The Nhs is a remarkable institution and its ethos of providing care on the basis of need rather than income is something to be admired .However it is in crisis.I have experienced healthcare as a patient and doctor. I have PD which has been life changing. It made me determined to write a memoir
I’ve written a memoirTrust me I’m exhausted I’m not training out there and this is available my Amazon but I think has some of the answers
Great ideas, affordable, now let’s implement before the newest health secretary decides he wants to try his own ideas out. We all know how tgat goes.
Yes agree with all those ideas and sure they would make lots of significant improvements if introduced. However there are just as much waste in the private medicine world that could help speed up the process and make efficiencies.
It's impotent to take the best suggestions from both sides and then incorporate them quickly.
Keep up the good work Rory always appreciate it what your doing.
Provide every adult patient with a NHS account start-up balance of say £100, to which a credit is given for attending a scheduled appointment, and from which a deduction is made for each DNA. When the balance is zero they will be booked automatically onto an attendance awareness course.
Yesterday I attended a clinic at my local hospital. This was “arranged” many weeks ago by which I mean that the hospital sent me a letter telling me of the date and time and of the clinic involved but not the name of the clinician (who I assumed would be one I had met at a previous clinic). After an hour and several reminders of my name and the clinic time I was seen by a different clinician and by the Parkinson’s nurse, whom I had met before. She did not know the name of the clinician who I saw yesterday (over an hour after the original time), He explained that the clinician I was due to see had a patient with complex needs to whom she had to give priority.
The original letter telling me of the appointment was followed by several text messages, a confirmatory letter to my NHS app and text messages yesterday morning and the day before. None of them gave the name of the clinician I was due to see, nor any indication that she might not be able to see me.
There have to be better ways of running this system. How about finding out whether the date and time were acceptable (I would have preferred a change, but the NHS appointments system does not encourage this)? How about a warning of the patient before me having complex needs? How about reducing the number of reminders?
I have not yet seen the report of the meeting yesterday (which I am confident will be sent ti the former senior partner of my GP practice, who retired many years ago).
I have an appointment in January to see the Parkinson’s nurse. There will be the usual deluge of reminders, and the usual warnings about the results of changing the appointment.
Is this helpful?
Very interesting, as usual. Thank you for this. I'm sure you are right that there should be more admin assistance in hospitals.As a former medical secretary myself (in the 1970s), I am sure that we did very valuable work, freeing up the medical staff to do the work they were trained for. We were always considered second class citizens!!
So agree with the point about DNA. My husband and I have recently had notification of Covid boosters for a time when we are away. Three separate half hours on the phone to rearrange with no answer, filled in an online request for them to contact us. Result: nothing and two missed appointments.
Regarding Did Not Attend.
This is quite often the default option on the list when appointments are changed or cancelled. I had a warning letter after 3 ENT appointments postponed , with 6 monthly intervals between. I hadn't cancelled. Records were checked Profusely apologies from department. Consultant took holidays every 6 months. Appointment of my choosing resulted
DNA is now - was not brought
Important distinction to make for children and safe guarding
The situation at the present time is very worrying. Our next generation of doctors have experienced Covid ( very damaging to frontal lobe pathways), a global crisis with warming of the planet, energy crisis and the demands of an aging population. The NHS in understaffed, chronically under resourced, reliant on locum staff, endured management That are often devoid of any real understanding of the arena they manage. Hence the seeming waste in repeated reminders to attend appointments , poorconsistency in their care in care and the human aspect of being unwell being relegated to the bottom of priorities. I’ve worked as an NHS consultant and also experienced good Care and poor care in the NHS. The Nhs is a remarkable institution and its ethos of providing care on the basis of need rather than income is something to be admired .However it is in crisis.I have experienced healthcare as a patient and doctor. I have PD which has been life changing. It made me determined to write a memoir
I’ve written a memoirTrust me I’m exhausted I’m not training out there and this is available my Amazon but I think has some of the answers