Yesterday, Blair, on a visit to a hospital claimed that the NHS had never been better.

On the very same day the Chairman of the BMA quite saying that "Doctors had never been so demoralised", and

Nurses went on strike in Barnsley -

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/6675481.stm

I`ve pondered a reply to this post for a while and I think we are moving away from a National Health service into a Regional Health Service.

I don`t have any figures to hand, but I would not mind betting that down our end of the land we have more funding for health services than in Barnsley.

But, and it`s a big "but", there is still a situation here, in which for various outpatient tasks, the same appointment time is given out to all patients.

So , Blair says "It`s never been better"?

I think we have to look at the history of the NHS and the health of the people in the country in general, and, of course the employees of the service and it IS a service.

And then , of course one other thing.

How many of us have used the NHS (RHS), but still back ourselves up with private health care insurance?

A case for NHS "Premium Care", and not just another insurance policy?

The patients can often expect the same doctors, privately, and that`s a fact.

I hate hospitals and like to keep well away from them but the one night I spent in the NHS Maidstone hospital (internal bleeding from too many Nurofens) a couple of years ago, if you exclude the awful food - far worse than prison - and uncomfortable experience of being chained to an officer throughout, I was most impressed by the efficiency and quality of medical service.

Any other personal opinions?

Mart

It's all down to "spin" again. The government has set targets, and are claiming that these targets are being achieved.

In reality they have just moved goalposts !

For example, one "target" is that no patient should wait more than four hours in casualty. That has been "achieved" - not by actually treating the patients faster and more efficiently, but by "moving" the patient if they are approaching the four hour limit !

Patients are either transferred to a ward (and therefor no longer waiting in casualty) or discharged to see their own doctors.

In neither case has the patient actually been treated - but the target has been achieved !

Ah yes, the operating of the "Triarge" system.

First the patient sits on a chair,for an hour, then gets moved to a different corridor to another chair and of course one more time before being assesed.

When I was in hospital a couple of years ago, a nurse was walking around with a post-it note pad sticking notes on peoples` backs with either the word "patient" or "visitor" on the packed waiting rooms residents backs!(I kid you not!)

I will say though, I cannot fault the Ambulance services in the UK.

JK2006 wrote:
I hate hospitals and like to keep well away from them but the one night I spent in the NHS Maidstone hospital (internal bleeding from too many Nurofens) a couple of years ago, if you exclude the awful food - far worse than prison - and uncomfortable experience of being chained to an officer throughout, I was most impressed by the efficiency and quality of medical service.

Any other personal opinions?

When my father died a couple of years a go the whole NHS thing was absolutely remarkable.

They provided a bed, a hoist, a nurse/helper twice a day (Later two nursey/helper people) and other bits and bobs.

He died comfortably and happy in his own home - the NHS, institution and staff - were simply wonderful.

Twice in the past 6 years I've had reason to visit the doctor and on both occasions it was slightly awkward as my appointment was a few hours later on the same day - awkward because it was borderline if it was worth going home and returning or mooching around the shops a while.

On the targets thing - they are on the whole stupid and misguided designed to appease stupid and misguided people who want a first class service at bargain rates.

Whenever they look into why the NHS "cost so much" the answer is always "...actually it doesn't, we get a lot for out for the money put in".

So two points really - politicians are the product of the electorate, blame the electorate.

In my (Thankfully limited) experience of the NHS the whole thing has been sterling.