NHS wasting money

NotSpaghetti

My mother-in-law (post stroke) and I, (post-op) both had our aids and equipment delivered to our homes and then collected again when not required.

It must depend on your trust.
Ours are all recycled by one service. You just call and arrange a date for collection.

When my Mum passed away we had to clear her house and there was loads of disability aids. All in all I made 6 phonecalls to the firm who were supposed to collect them. Each time I rang they made up an excuse as to why they had not done so. Either they couldn’t find the house, there was nobody at home, they could not find the garden shed etc. Each time I gave them very clear instructions and postcode and said it was exactly opposite a certain public building. I told them the house was empty but all the items were in the sole garden shed which was unlocked. On the 6th call the girl confirmed how many calls were logged and apologised. We took everything to a shed behind the GP surgery and luckily it was open and put it all in there to be used in the community.

At the moment you go to your GP and they refer you. The NHS then outsource the assessment and delivery and pay to repeat your assessment

My mother-in-law (post stroke) and I, (post-op) both had our aids and equipment delivered to our homes and then collected again when not required.

It must depend on your trust.
Ours are all recycled by one service. You just call and arrange a date for collection.

I had to have a Doppler test. The NHS wait was just under a year, so I decided to have it done privately at a local clinic., where the wait was about 10 days. It was performed by a consultant who worked at my (then) local hospital.

The hospital wanted to see me for a further procedure but I had to have a Doppler test. Told them that this had already been done and was told that they could not accept it, as it had to be done by the NHS - despite the test being done by the NHS consultant whom I would be seeing at a later date anyway!!

Don't get me started on equipment waste!! I used to work in community care where the client had various types of hoists, hospital beds, walking aids, commodes, not to mention incontinence pads. When these items were no longer needed, they were disposed of. Incredibly expensive bits of kit which could quite easily be sterilised and serviced for re-use. If this can be done in Scandinavia, why not here?

Every single time a client of mine was hospitalised, they would be returned home with sheets, blankets and pillows, none of which were taken back by the transport people. Why? I decided to round these up one day and fill a large black sack and took them back to the hospital. The nurse in charge looked at me as if I was mad! "What do you expect me to do with them?". (Wash and re-use possibly)!

This is going on all over the country and the £millions thrown away is an utter disgrace but no-one is doing anything about it. Again, why?

All those overpaid middle managers could, possibly, try justifying their existence by campaigning against this waste. Too much to hope for, I expect.

* The charity is called Jacob’s Well and is based in Surrey. They will take lots of equipment and post it overseas to disadvantaged countries.

You are right about the NHS not wanting ileostomy/ colostomy bags back - and it often takes trying several different ones before finding a successful variety. However, go on line and find third world charities that are desperate for them - people are using supermarket bags! I posted off a great big box to I think it was St Joseph’s. Much needed and better than throwing them away, even if you have to pay postage!

PamelaJ1

Astitchintime

Automatic prescription requests are a pet hate of mine. I used to go to patients homes and they had boxes full of unwanted meds that were prescribed for ‘as and when required’ but were issued every month regardless……….GTN sprays, inhalers etc being examples.
The money wasted was criminal!

Our surgery won’t let me have more than 4weeks supply of medication at a time unless you have a very good reason. I go to visit my DD for over a month each year and I have to write in to request an extra box.

Our GPs also limit how much you can have at one time. However my husband takes a cocktail of different drugs and if they change a dose he has to have a whole two month's worth, of that drug, they can't just give him enough to make up what is required until the next prescription.

2 examples of NHS waste.
1) Mil eith advanced cancer expected to live approximately a week but sent 3 months worth of high protein soups and drinks. She was in a coma!
2) I was diagnosed with arthritis in my ankle to be treated with cortisol injections. After a 2 year wait condition has advanced so needed a total ankle fusion. 2 days in hospital and umpteen follow ups and me with pre diabetes through inability yo exercise for 2 years.

Well then presumably Boots would have to have a contract with the NHS?
This way many people probably buy from Boots thus actually saving the NHS time and money.

NotSpaghetti

Surely it was Boots wasting money in your case Slimswim in the hope you would buy hearing aids from them?
The doctor is obviously the gateway to specialist services and clearly your GP has referred you.
The audiology team have seen the results from your Boots appointment and have decided they wete accurate enough to fit you with hearing aids.

Perhaps it would have saved the NHS money if Boots had been able to refer me direct to ENT.

Surely it was Boots wasting money in your case Slimswim in the hope you would buy hearing aids from them?
The doctor is obviously the gateway to specialist services and clearly your GP has referred you.
The audiology team have seen the results from your Boots appointment and have decided they wete accurate enough to fit you with hearing aids.

We moved house last year. WE now live 70 miles from where we used to live and we signed up for everything medical in our new area.

DH has cardiac problem and has had incidents with admissions to hospital that mean he is firmly embedded in the new area for cardiac issues, attends the heart failure clinic, appointments with local cardiologist.

This week he had an email from our former health trust giving him an appointment in the cardiac department. The email said if he could not make the appointment to ring the number in the letter he had been sent that also told him about the appointment - but he hasn't received any letter, so has no number to ring. He tried sending an email to the department sending the appointment email - but that is a no-reply address. He tried other ways of contact, without success. So he will be an appointment no show. Wasted money, wasted appointment

However he will attend the cardiac appointment he has at our new local hospital next week.

Astitchintime

Automatic prescription requests are a pet hate of mine. I used to go to patients homes and they had boxes full of unwanted meds that were prescribed for ‘as and when required’ but were issued every month regardless……….GTN sprays, inhalers etc being examples.
The money wasted was criminal!

Our surgery won’t let me have more than 4weeks supply of medication at a time unless you have a very good reason. I go to visit my DD for over a month each year and I have to write in to request an extra box.

Primrose53

We have thrown hundreds of £ worth of unwanted/un needed NHS supplies in recent months. My son was on a nasal feed machine for many months and we had to throw out boxes and boxes of liquid feed, syringes and pipes still in their original packaging.

Prior to this my husband had been on high calorie drinks and I was told to throw away over £300 worth. I didn’t - I was telling a physio assistant who visited and she filled her boot with them and said she would make sure they went to people who needed them.

I had vein surgery a few years ago and prior to surgery had to go to hospital and get measured by a nurse for support stockings. After the operation the Dr said “you can choose whether or not you wear the stockings but I have to tick the box to say they have been given to you.” I didn’t need to wear them so that was a total waste of money for the NHS.

My late Mum’s stoma nurse told me that she regularly goes to homes where patients have several thousand £ worth of stoma bags, disposal bags, adhesive spray etc. when they die the families just have to throw the lot.

I took my last pair to the hospital as I was measured for them but the nurse insisted I was given a new pair same size 😳 I’ve five pairs in the drawer.

Not all Specsavers have contracts to.supply NHS hearing aids. Mine doesn’t, so although the test is free they can only offer private hearing aids. It varies from area to area.

When DH was being looked after at home during lockdown. (Thankyou NHS) all kinds of aids arrived to make life easier in those last weeks.
When he died the bed (a wonderful invention) and various aids were collected but the electrically operated reclining chair with special cushions was not.
I was told by the guys who collected all the other things to keep it else it would have to be disposed of. Hygiene?

Anyway I advertised it on our local Food bank site and someone gratefully took it away. But surely this was very wasteful in terms of NHS and Council budgets?

Magenta8

One of the things I learnt, from working for the NHS, in various capacities for 40 years, is that whoever they are who administer the finances they are expert at wasting money.

Incidentally the branch of Specsavers I went to managed to keep very quiet about their NHS contract and I was presented with no option but to pay for my hearing aid.

That’s utterly outrageous!

Three years ago my GP decided I needed a health MOT and referred me to Specsavers for a hearing test, which I knew I didn't need.

Specsavers insisted on giving me hearing aids - Lord only knows how much they cost - even though I protested I didn't need them. I may have had some small hearing loss, but nothing to bother about. Things sounded different but not better with the aids in. I wore them for a whole day and still wasn't convinced I needed them.

I've never worn them, still don't need them three years later and they're just sitting in a drawer.

I think Specsavers just made a profit from the NHS when it didn't need to be done. Total waste of money.

The nhs waste money day in day out...it will never change .

Automatic prescription requests are a pet hate of mine. I used to go to patients homes and they had boxes full of unwanted meds that were prescribed for ‘as and when required’ but were issued every month regardless……….GTN sprays, inhalers etc being examples.
The money wasted was criminal!

We have thrown hundreds of £ worth of unwanted/un needed NHS supplies in recent months. My son was on a nasal feed machine for many months and we had to throw out boxes and boxes of liquid feed, syringes and pipes still in their original packaging.

Prior to this my husband had been on high calorie drinks and I was told to throw away over £300 worth. I didn’t - I was telling a physio assistant who visited and she filled her boot with them and said she would make sure they went to people who needed them.

I had vein surgery a few years ago and prior to surgery had to go to hospital and get measured by a nurse for support stockings. After the operation the Dr said “you can choose whether or not you wear the stockings but I have to tick the box to say they have been given to you.” I didn’t need to wear them so that was a total waste of money for the NHS.

My late Mum’s stoma nurse told me that she regularly goes to homes where patients have several thousand £ worth of stoma bags, disposal bags, adhesive spray etc. when they die the families just have to throw the lot.

One of the things I learnt, from working for the NHS, in various capacities for 40 years, is that whoever they are who administer the finances they are expert at wasting money.

Incidentally the branch of Specsavers I went to managed to keep very quiet about their NHS contract and I was presented with no option but to pay for my hearing aid.

Absolutely slimswim
I was waiting a very long time for an NHS cataract op so I privately had an assessment and was about to take out a loan to pay £££ for this when miraculously a letter arrived from NHS offering a shorter wait.
I cancelled the private but the NHS was still months away and they insisted on doing their own assessment.
Aren't I the same person whether or not I go privately or wait for NHS?

Both eyes have now been done which is great but years have passed in waiting, stress and bad eyesight.
Surely it doesn't have to be so cumbersome?
The operations themselves were over a matter of minutes.