Our 'Wonderful' NHS

I think that so many of our NHS shortcomings are caused by admin. errors. I have in the past received 3 letters from the hospital, giving me 3 different appointments for the same clinic, for the same consultant, for the same problem!

Maybe we should look more closely at health provision in other countries - we are so quick to criticise and over-stretched under-resourced service and don't want our taxes increasing to pay for it. It would run a lot better if people used it correctly

My husband got a letter today saying he never attended an appointment on the 5th November, he didn’t know he had an appointment on 5th November.

I attended a consultant’s appointment and she wanted to know why I didn’t attend an appointment made for me at another hospital. I never received an appointment she said it happens a lot.

There are so many more instances of administrative errors but it was ever thus.

Having worked for the NHS, can I say that you often find that not all the departments use the same system ! They may well not have access to the different department's appointment diaries. This assumption that your name is put into the computer and hey presto! all of your appointments throughout the hospital is very wrong .
In an ideal world, this would happen but unfortunately it often comes down to the budget that is set for the IT system may well mean that the total hospital system can only be done piece by piece. In fact, my local hospital is still using paper records that have to be sent from a warehouse.
Please, before you knock the NHS, go and spend a few years in a country that only has private healthcare and see the difference!

Amagran Sat 23-Nov-19 09:49:46 well I did say probably but I think it is very sad that they haven't made this obvious provision. I do remember that the NHS was hacked but not because they were insecure, it was because some of them had failed to do the updates.

Camelotclub Sat 23-Nov-19 10:38:16 solicitors accept signed documents which are scanned and sent so I see no reason why the NHS can't.

In this day and age with technology you would have through the computer would have flagged it up as a double appointment

Having recently been in hospital for a kidney stone I feel that some of the admin is so repeated how many time’s I’d answered the same questions to different people was endless! Then the bp monitors were updated on screens and the obs were too. How many times I heard nurses saying this is supposed to save time all electronically dated. But they were spending more time inputting data than when they wrote it!

I had an appointment made for January 7th at a local hospital. Last week I had a letter telling me that the appointment had been cancelled - the tone of the letter suggested that I was the one who had cancelled it - and that I should make another appointment immediately. I went to website but was refused entry, so I could not rebook. After several attempts at using the phone where a recorded voice told me over and over again that the phone line was only for people who had no access to the internet I finally found out that the appointment had been changed to Dec 12th, but there was no time mentioned. I was advised to phone the hospital - phoned there 3 times being told each time that they were too busy to answer and was then cut off. Finally at 5.30 in the evening I joined a queue of 8 and got to speak to someone who told me the time of my appointment and was quite curt, with the same implication that this was all my fault. Two days later two letters arrived, one to tell me of the cancellation and another to tell me of the new appointment. The care is wonderful - the admin ghastly.

Sadly, I have also experienced this kind of administration problem. I have friends who work in the administration departments of hospitals and I know how over-worked they are. It is inevitable that if there aren't enough staff to cope with the work-load then problems are going to arise. Hopefully they will get more funding and be able to increase staff levels, but I fear admin will be bottom of the food chain.

A few years ago one department my son visited still gave out cards if they booked the next appointment when you were there.
In due course a letter arrived changing his appointment so I crossed it through on the card and added the new one. Then again and again. I think we had about half a dozen changes. Eventually one came (which turned out to be the last one) the date seemed familiar and when I went to enter it on the card it was the original appointment back again!!! All that wasted effort and money!!

Another gripe is that we get a text message reminding us of an appointment (about a week ahead) but there has been no letter sent to us and no clue on the text whether the appointment is for me or my son (he has SN so I give them my number as I have to take him) or for which department!

Grammaretto
Lawyers and NHS may still use fax machines because they are more secure than a text message, faxes can't be hacked. Also you can't see an original signature over a text.

I can’t fault our local GP and hospital. This week I had an appointment with the practice nurse who thought I should see a doctor. Appointment next morning , doctor referred me to eye clinic with a phone call, seen that afternoon. All was good, thank goodness, I have a history of optic neuritis, but to all involved this was superb, how the NHS should work.

We are so lucky to have the NHS, and medically speaking I have no complaints. But their admin errors take my breath away at times. They really do need shaking up.

I've had similar, I had to cancel a podiatry appt due to my father in law's funeral. I said I only live a minute away from hospital & can take a cancellation. Yet I've heard nothing not cos there are no cancellations but no way to match up waiting people with cancellations. I hope more funding will bring about an awareness of better use of resources.

the software probably is there but the people using it are not accountable and it really feels as if they don't care.
No, Nonnie, the software often isn't there - my daughter works for the NHS in Admin. She is constantly slowed down in her job by slow and low-capability systems. It is very frustrating for staff like her who have maybe worked in the private sector and know that with greater investment in IT infrastructure, the NHS could work so much more efficiently and cost-effectively.

And please, don't anyone hint at bad workmen blaming their tools, or admin across the sector will implode with mass apoplexy!!

In fairness, my husband has had a huge number of hospital appointments across about half a dozen specialties in the last year and they have been both notified and dealt with efficiently and helpfully when there have been clashes.

argh! so much wastage, verging on corruption, with the money it all costs, let alone the anguish..

NHS it is the admin that is at fault every time, lets start saying that... the NHS admin is abysmal,, most all docs , nurses, etc, and the cleaning staff are good, all down to the ADMIN!

(rant over)

You are correct. I’ve often said...if military medics ran the NHS it would be run smarter.
I’m speaking from experience. I worked in th NHS for 7 years in admin.....it was a total mess when I arrived, and insecure too. My view is...they need to have one system of administrative working and train all staff in this. This way all departments work in the same manner...with deference to their specialty. Why have admin for every unit. Now they are all working the same...have a pool.
There is such a lot of waste. Another example is the constant changing of trusts which involves change of letterheads on stationary and signage. There is so much waste.

As an excellent example of efficiency I can use my physiotherapy experience. Referred by GP had phone call within a fortnight telling me I was listed and asking which centre I would like to use. I chose the nearest. Another phone call a couple of days later to do a basic assessment and ask if I would attend a cancellation at short notice. I said yes. Phone call couple of days later which was taken by my answering machine. I rang back but was told the cancellation had already been taken. Phone call next day to offer another one. I agreed. Recieved instructions in post. I had to call on morning of appointment to confirm my attendance, if I didn't I would be dropped and the appointment offered to someone else. Had treatment about 4 weeks after GPs appointment. Brilliant!!!
It should be remembered that any system is only as good as the person working there. Low wages and busy stressful days mean some admin workers in the NHS are not up to the job.

Gaunt47 that sounds about right

The knee jerk reaction is always that the NHS needs more money. But that money is given to administrators, not medical personnel, and the administrators will spend it on administration. It's simply that that's what they do - they can put in new computer programmes, get excited about building new offices for themselves. Meanwhile a scanner keeps breaking down.

I opened this thread thinking it would be about the scandal of the maternity services at Shropshire & Telford Hospitals.

It's hard to have any faith in either the system or the actual services.

Good idea, Nonnie! (...needs a few grandparents to sort them out.)

People not turning up for appointments does waste NHS time and money, of course, so I think texting reminders is a good idea. Don't they have office managers any more? In the olden days those people would have overseen communications with patients and with other departments. All this duplication of letters and attending twice to see different specialists costs money (ours and theirs) so paying office managers could still save money. Does anyone else remember work study engineers? They were not popular with other staff but were employed to see how work could be made more efficient thus saving the company money.

I am now getting automated calls checking up on whether I will attend or not. That may be an improvement if it costs little and stops people from not attending but when they are a couple of weeks in advance it makes me wonder if I will get more of them.

I suspect the reason for the inefficiency is that the NHS cannot save small amounts and there is no incentive for staff to look for savings because they might do themselves out of a job. It needs a few grandparents to go in and sort them out

We never get texts from the Hospital or doctor. The NHS Dentist has just reached the 21st century so I get a text reminder.

NHS are the only thing besides lawyers who still use fax machines I believe.

Every hospital appointment is confirmed by letter even if it was made in person at the previous appointment and we have an appointment card, a phone and a computer..
The bowel cancer test has got more efficient recently.

I was speaking to a hospital nurse about parking and public transport. She said her shifts never allow her to catch a bus or a train so she had to use her car and pay £9 per day for staff parking.

I agree gangy5. Throwing money at it isn't going to make much difference. Someone could begin by listening to the staff and patients

I am becoming extremely weary of hearing about all these huge amounts of money that are being promised to the NHS.
What I want to hear is that the whole caboodle is going to be drastically re organised to make it more efficient and more cost effective.
Can anyone on here inform us of any large re organisation scheme that is going on at this time, It would be re assuring to know that something was being done to save money,