Nhs & The 7%

[Ric.ror]

As it seems 7% of the NHS is now in private hands - what would that be exactly- would it be MIR scans for instance?

[TheDevil]

A long distance. over three hours each way.

[mushroom25]

//I told him to go to a news paper but he said it happens weekly. //

the NHS does the job, and in general the staff are efficient and hard working. but the bureaucracy is huge, unwieldy and needs controlling. If some of the excesses could be controlled it may be that some of the currently outsourced services could be brought in-house, and done effectively. at this time some services are better managed outside, even if centrally funded.

[andres]

^^following on from apc2604 @16.01

[emmie]

I had a MRI scan and it was via the NHS at a private clinic, as it was expedient.

[emmie]

I didn't have to pay as the Private clinic gets paid from NHS budgets.

[TheDevil]

It seems if we ever have to say bye bye to our NHS, it would be at fault of private companies for profit, rather than our own government.
Of course private companies are completely separate entities.

[Sqad]

From the inception of the NHS in 1948 there has always been a private component, which has increased due to the added pressures not seen on the birth of the NHS .

Without private intervention, the NHS would never survive.

It will never be completely private as the electorate in the UK would never permit this as they have never known anything other than state medicine.

The USA doesn't want a NHS based on the UK style as no other country has followed suit.

[TheDevil]

I feel like it works for us though, Sqad.

[emmie]

one thing surprised me, that London ambulances get calls out to far away jobs, one apparently had a pick up in Glasgow, another in Sheffield, and more besides, doesn't this seem wasteful, surely they must have decent hospitals nearer the patients.

[Sqad]

the Devil....LOL...well some of us....;-)

[woofgang]

emmie it depends, some hospitals do VERY specialised and unusual stuff and its best for the patient if the clinicians have as much actual experience as possible...thinking things like eg separating conjoined twins. It may not be safe for the patient to travel by private car so ambulance is the best option.
I have personal experience of NHS purchasing and what a mess its in. Years agi when it was permitted, the Trust i worked for set up an account at B and Q for the maintenance department because it was so much cheaper and quicker than going through purchasing. I have personal experience of being told I would have to pay over 30 quid for a kettle that was 6.95 in Argos "because it came PAT tested" I bought the 6.95 one out of petty cash and got maintenance to do the PAT test!

[cassa333]

GP services, catering, cleaning, nurses (some of them), some surgical procedures, Dentistry, some ambulance services.

At my local private hospital you can have all manner of NHS surgeries and procedures as well as some cancer treatments. Old age care is outsourced as well.

TBH I’m surprised it’s only 7% but think it should be higher.

[New Judge]

//Mushroom, what I mean is where a private company may be able to get surgical equipment for £250 the NHS may be able to get it for £25 being a government entity//

As mushroom suggests, it is far more likely to be the other way round.

//The hospital sent a private taxi there to pick him up. It cost the NHS over 6 thousand pounds for one taxi journey there to grab him and bring him back.//

And there’s the proof. Who in their right mind would pay £1,000 an hour to a taxi driver? You can charter an eight seater private jet for less than that hourly rate.

I don’t understand this absurd obsession with the NHS being immune from private enterprise. Every NHS patient begins their treatment by seeing a private contractor (their GP). The NHS in its current form is unsustainable and is incredibly inefficient. It will gobble up any amount of funds that politicians throw at it but still be unable to meet demand properly. Private contractors have a much better track record of service provision (in all areas) than governments and their participation should be encouraged.

//I feel like it works for us though, Sqad.//

But by and large it doesn’t. People have to wait unacceptably long periods for treatment, often in pain and severe discomfort. The NHS needs root and branch reformation and the involvement of private enterprise to make it work satisfactorily.

[Eve]

I've had quite a few scans done through private companies including ultrasounds, MRI scans and a cardiac echo. I've also recently been seen a consultant at a private hospital, via the NHS, and had a specialist scan far quicker than I would have via any of the NHS hospitals.

One company does certain scans at my GP surgery, which is brilliant.
They are very quick to arrange appointments and it's much more convenient than going to the hospital.

[Buenchico]

If you use your doctor's out-of-hours service it will be provided by a private company. Our local out-of-hours service is run by such a company, even though it's based at Ipswich Hospital. (The company simply rents space in the rheumatology department for its staff to work from when that department is closed).

[youngmafbog]

There is a world of difference between a contract to a private company and 'privatisation' Of course certain political parties like to merge the two for political gain from those who cannot think much but it sill remains there is a massive difference.

For instance one of my daughters is a contract doctor. She works full time at NHS hospitals but is not directly paid by them. All those backsides she has operated on though would not have a clue it is not an NHS paid doctor doing it.

And for those claiming the NHS can do it cheaper, I'm afraid you have fallen for the usual political hype. No they can't which is one reason why they outsource.