NHS efficency

[WASA38]

Attended my GP surgery today, Saturday, at 1545h to provide a routine blood test sample.

Test results (all satisfactory) reported back to me from hospital (Addenbrooke's) online at 2330h !

Can anyone trump this ? (apologies for that unspeakable verb).

NHS comes in for lots of shit. Seemed worth giving an example of excellence.

[timsussex]

The problem with the NHS has long been - and it is getting worse - is that at its best it is excellent but so much of the time it is appalling and no-one employed there really cares especially in the higher echelons which are too busy building their tiny empires

While I do subscribe to the view that you should never rate an individual based on their worst day - the opposite is true for an organisation and especially an  important one that your life might  depend on

for example would you drive a car which had brakes that were excellent 95% of the time ?  even if they completely failed 1 in 20  ?
Of course you wouldn't because your life depends on it - well your life might well depend on the NHS and it might be excellent but so many times it isnt even acceptable

Now I know I am setting a high bar but I did work in the NHS

 

[mr.bluesky]

Attended my GP surgery today, Saturday, at 1545h to provide a routine blood test sample.

Test results (all satisfactory) reported back to me from hospital (Addenbrooke's) online at 2330h !

Can anyone trump this ? (apologies for that unspeakable verb).

NHS comes in for lots of shit. Seemed worth giving an example of excellence.

So you had to go online to get your results ? What happens to old people who don't have online access, probably have to wait days or weeks before their local doctors surgery bothers to call them to tell them the results  or how about having to go to your local hospital's A&E department and having to wait over 11 hours before you get sorted. The NHS is a wonderfull thing to have unfortunately it is unable to cope with today's demands.
As timsussex says " it's getting worse "

[Jonestown]

Yes if the results are ok then the lab will post them to the NHS App at the same time as they send them to the medical team, however if the results are not normal they will in some cases not post to the App, then you have to make an appointment to discuss them, which can be hours, days, weeks, ……….

[Pillowtalk]

Attended my GP surgery today, Saturday, at 1545h to provide a routine blood test sample.

Test results (all satisfactory) reported back to me from hospital (Addenbrooke's) online at 2330h !

Can anyone trump this ? (apologies for that unspeakable verb).

NHS comes in for lots of shit. Seemed worth giving an example of excellence.

I'm impressed you got a Saturday appointment.

[Doc Holliday]

The system is designed to allow routine blood samples to be taken, transported and tested within in 24 hours. This is to avoid the chances of them being degraded in any way. In times gone by the delays in receiving results were purely down to the 'paperwork'. In a digital system the results should appear instantly in digital format and be available to whoever has authorised access.

What you describe should be standard and not exceptional.

I will give you a very recent example of gross inefficiency.

I saw a Consultant in mid May.
He dictated a letter to my GP on the day of my appointment.
The letter was not typed until late July. At that point a digital copy exists.
I received a hard copy of said letter in the post yesterday 7 weeks after it was typed.

My GP also receives a hard copy of that letter on a similar time scale. Staff then have to scan it and upload it until finally we have a digital record available for GP and patient.

Would any business operate that way?

[DastardlyDick]

Yes if the results are ok then the lab will post them to the NHS App at the same time as they send them to the medical team, however if the results are not normal they will in some cases not post to the App, then you have to make an appointment to discuss them, which can be hours, days, weeks, ……….

I don't know if I'm just lucky with my GP, but if I have adverse test results, they text me to make an appointment, and get them within 2 weeks. I've also had my appointment for the flu jab for over 2 months for October.

[MLawro93]

The system is designed to allow routine blood samples to be taken, transported and tested within in 24 hours. This is to avoid the chances of them being degraded in any way. In times gone by the delays in receiving results were purely down to the 'paperwork'. In a digital system the results should appear instantly in digital format and be available to whoever has authorised access.

What you describe should be standard and not exceptional.

I will give you a very recent example of gross inefficiency.

I saw a Consultant in mid May.
He dictated a letter to my GP on the day of my appointment.
The letter was not typed until late July. At that point a digital copy exists.
I received a hard copy of said letter in the post yesterday 7 weeks after it was typed.

My GP also receives a hard copy of that letter on a similar time scale. Staff then have to scan it and upload it until finally we have a digital record available for GP and patient.

Would any business operate that way?

Your letter example sums it up really. Dictated in May, typed in July, lands on the doormat in September, and then someone at the surgery has to scan the paper copy back into a computer it was already sitting on. You couldn't design it worse if you tried.

I've worked in and around this industry for a long time and the conclusion I've come to is that the system isn't built around the patient at all. It's built around the process. The patient is the thing that gets in the way of the process running smoothly, so they're treated as an inconvenience. Which is truly bizarre when you think about what the whole thing is supposed to be for.

That Independent (External Link/Members Only) piece doing the rounds about trusts setting minimum waiting times is the same thing in a different costume. Slot free, patient ready, and someone's decided you'll wait anyway because a spreadsheet says so.

It's why I go private where I can, and when I do end up in A&E I write everything down and keep copies. Not because the staff are bad, most are doing their best, but because nobody is accountable for anything and the only person who'll join the dots on your care is you.

[Watts.E.Dunn]

Well i get the same stardard as the OP i'm on the MyChart system which shows all the medical info for letters, bood tests, visits , the NHS has finally got IT to work for it.

As Mr Bluesky says i don't think that many OAP's and the like haven't got a smartfone now or computer access , if you want my GP will phone through some results the blood test ones take a while to read out and then again most people wouldn't know what a platelet is would they?.

The thing that pisses me off is that when you go to the chemists the number of people in there aksing them for help,  what they should able to do is access their GP a lot easier.

[MLawro93]

Well i get the same stardard as the OP i'm on the MyChart system which shows all the medical info for letters, bood tests, visits , the NHS has finally got IT to work for it.

As Mr Bluesky says i don't think that many OAP's and the like haven't got a smartfone now or computer access , if you want my GP will phone through some results the blood test ones take a while to read out and then again most people wouldn't know what a platelet is would they?.

The thing that pisses me off is that when you go to the chemists the number of people in there aksing them for help,  what they should able to do is access their GP a lot easier.

MyChart is just the patient-facing bit of Epic, and Epic isn't actually that good. The big problem is interoperability. It doesn't talk properly to the systems your GP is on, or the ones at the next hospital along, so your record still doesn't follow you from primary care through to tertiary. Your trust happens to have it working, mine might not, and the one you get referred to might be on something else entirely. It's still a postcode lottery, just with a nicer app on top.

[Charliehutton]

I've worked in and around this industry for a long time and the conclusion I've come to is that the system isn't built around the patient at all. It's built around the process. The patient is the thing that gets in the way of the process running smoothly, so they're treated as an inconvenience. Which is truly bizarre when you think about what the whole thing is supposed to be for.

So true! I get the same impression with local government, which is run for the benefit of its employees, not the council taxpayers who are seen as a bloody nuisance.

[timsussex]

So true! I get the same impression with local government, which is run for the benefit of its employees, not the council taxpayers who are seen as a bloody nuisance.

Of course it is
50 years ago a union official at a hospital I worked at pointed out that
" patients are only in the hospital for a few days My members are here 365 days a year"

(not sure if he had forgotten weekends and holidays or the sums were beyond him)

[DastardlyDick]

The thing that pisses me off is that when you go to the chemists the number of people in there aksing them for help,  what they should able to do is access their GP a lot easier.

That's because they have been encouraged to do so by both the previous and current Goernment's to take pressure off GPs.

[Watts.E.Dunn]

That's because they have been encouraged to do so by both the previous and current Goernment's to take pressure off GPs.

Well i was waiting 40 bloody miniutes in there the other day while two old ladies described stuff that only a doctore should treat .

Bloody silly idea was never as bad as that..

[southcoastpunter]

Well i was waiting 40 bloody miniutes in there the other day while two old ladies described stuff that only a doctore should treat .

Bloody silly idea was never as bad as that..

getting a GP appointment is for many people very difficult so anything to help is welcome! At least with a chemist there are likely to be other ones or go have a coffee and come back later- probably clear then!

[Blackpool Rock]

I think one of the complaints around efficiency or rather inefficiency is when someone has an ailment and needs multiple appointments but with different people / departments but they have to go for say 3 appointments on 3 consecutive days, why can't they all be scheduled for the same day even if not 1 after the other 

But is it actually any better in the private sector, i'd say not from my experience -
A few years ago my Mum needed an operation and decided to go private as she basically couldn't get any progress or date from the NHS, her appointments were about 45 miles away which meant a family member freeing up time to take her and none of us lived near her, multiple appointments none of which were on the same day even after we asked if things could be scheduled accordingly.

The same with my dentist were the last time I attended about 5 months ago I had another check up and dental hygienist appointment booked for a few weeks time back to back which makes sense.
A few weeks after making the appointments I was notified that one of them is now the following day as someone has apparently left, so why couldn't they simply transfer all the existing appointments over to the new person  This really fucks people up if they need to take time off work etc 

It's not just a one off either as the last time I was in there another old bloke was complaining about how he now had to come 2 days in a row and had made the appointments back to back to avoid that as he needed a hip replacement and struggled with the stairs

[Vince]

Attended my GP surgery today, Saturday, at 1545h to provide a routine blood test sample.

Test results (all satisfactory) reported back to me from hospital (Addenbrooke's) online at 2330h !

Can anyone trump this ? (apologies for that unspeakable verb).

NHS comes in for lots of shit. Seemed worth giving an example of excellence.

The person at the head of the queue doesn't understand what the miles of people strung behind him are complaining about

I have a connection with an organisation that monitors the NHS.
The stories they unearth - one can lose sleep over.
However, the NHS is budgeted at over 200B
The organisation I am talking about is 100k - the whole thing - 3 people, an office, etc...

[Doc Holliday]

I've worked in and around this industry for a long time and the conclusion I've come to is that the system isn't built around the patient at all. It's built around the process. The patient is the thing that gets in the way of the process running smoothly, so they're treated as an inconvenience. Which is truly bizarre when you think about what the whole thing is supposed to be for.

There is truth in that, as evidenced by today's Thirlwell report. However it is only one element within a system which has pretty much always been failing since its inception in 1948, though perhaps not to the extent it has in the last decade or so.

[MLawro93]

There is truth in that, as evidenced by today's Thirlwell report. However it is only one element within a system which has pretty much always been failing since its inception in 1948, though perhaps not to the extent it has in the last decade or so.

Yeah, the NHS never started smoothly. It had large amounts of opposition, so it never really got on a solid footing right from the start. Treating our population has only ever gotten harder over the decades due to demographic shifts, so the cracks become even more obvious.