What would a modern, properly funded NHS look like?
The NHS has been severely restricted by government funding. This has led to rationing of care at levels never seen in the NHS.
But what would the NHS look like were it allowed to grow with demands… 1/n #NHS
Add ur own…
ACCESSIBILITY
A modern health service is accessible in a timely fashion to all patients.
A variety of mediums are available…email your pharmacist, physio, specialist nurse with a query; consult via phone, video, or face to face; interactive messaging;
TIMELY
Time to doctor contact is defined by illness not staff availability.
Expert advice available without delay.
Delay in diagnosis (eg cancer) relates only to the biological delays in processing investigations.
Treatment commences at the point of diagnosis.
CAPACITY
There is enough staff to deliver on the above.
20 min GP appointments.
Time to develop a relationship with those looking after you.
Physio, OT & AHPs to facilitate maximal recovery from injury and disability.
Capacity to…
Get regular medication reviews
Achieve the standards set out in current guidelines…eg stroke management in stroke unit, timely cardiac angios, cancer, sepsis, pneumonia, etc…
Achieve a caring and compassionate patient journey
Staff learning and development
COMPETITIVE
Outcome-based performance stats:
—— Mortality, morbidity, and patient satisfaction.
A drive to be the best in the world, offering the best care, with the best outcomes.
Efficient - for outcomes that actually matter.
We have the knowledge and expertise to deliver the best healthcare anywhere in the world. But we need the public to want it and their representatives to argue for it.
We can’t deliver high-income healthcare on a middle-income budget.
A number of national bodies have written a joint statement highlighting the pressures on the health service and staff.
The public are upset they have reduced access to care.
The government wants more face to face consults and for waiting lists to fall…
But these demands are made when:
1. Our bed capacity remains lower than it has ever been. Despite WHO advice to increase basic care capacity to manage the additional patients, this Leadership reduced it by 8%. Less beds = less frontline staff.
Overall mortality of the pandemic can be measured as total deaths.
Deaths per 100k inhabitants:
UK - 205
Sweden - 144
Germany - 113
Ireland - 103
Norway - 16
Japan - 14
Singapore - 2 (yes, two)
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So why has the UK had more deaths?
Sweden pursued a herd immunity strategy. Germany had a similar public health response to the UK. Both have done much better than the UK.
if you get Covid-19 in the UK, you have a higher chance of dying. Why?
The first FATAL flaw of the UK response was the “stay home” approach.
Instead of triaging (assessing) covid cases, the UK opted to make NO routine clinical contact with ANY covid cases. UK national policy relies on the patient to come forward if severely unwell.
There are some misconceptions about private healthcare versus the NHS.
It is not a choice between reduced waiting times and better rooms.
1. A major change is motives. What is the motive of your doctor or service provider when offering tests or treatments?
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2. Where patients are seen as profit-making opportunities, the treatments offered changes. Now, NHS treatments are offered based on efficacy: does the treatment actually benefit the patient? Privatisation means corporations decide whether you treatments should be offered.
Both must consider money, but the outcome of the public service is how much bang for the buck…how much extra, good quality life can we get out of this treatment. It’s all about health and the patients life.