Everyone has some interest – and an opinion – on health, so it’s unsurprising two threads appeared today elsewhere on the forum (
http://filipinaroses.com/showthread.php/44365-our-NHS
http://filipinaroses.com/showthread....althcare-in-UK
)
How people feel is inevitably influenced by their personal experiences, which may mean they claim the entire health system of a country ( UK or Philippines ) “ sucks “ or is “ fantastic “, or – more often – it’s “ OK but needs improving “.
• Any discussion of the NHS – especially by politicians – usually begins by describing it as “ the envy of the world “ and indeed a recent blueprint for health care in the Philippines is modelled on our NHS. For many reasons as explained in other threads, primarily lack of resources ( finance, doctors, nurses ), but also culture and corruption, Philippines healthcare is not as good overall as that in the UK.
• The NHS also is imperfect. Excellent care by good doctors, nurses and others working in healthcare don’t make the headlines – unlike the situation when the care falls below standards expected from a taxpayer-funded public service.
• The latest scandal – resulting in last week’s report on the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust – does raise issues which are hard for experts to tackle, never mind the new Health Secretary ( Jeremy Hunt ).
• The “ wish list “ of 290 recommendations in the above ( “Francis “ ) Report - none of which are given priority - includes clearer standards of what NHS patients can expect; a legally binding “ duty of candour “ by which doctors and nurses must reveal mistakes; more compassion from these workers; registration of health care assistants; and more information about relative performance of hospitals.
• Florence Nightingale was in charge of a team of nurses at Scutari in the 1850’s. She would have expected to know today “ Who is in charge of the NHS ? “ Sir David Nicholson is that man, but he’s still in post, and no one else has so far lost their job after the Francis Report. Her successful philosophy was simple – patients were “ cured, relieved, or died “. We can’t simplify health care to that degree nowadays, but bureaucracy and form-filling is certainly taking time better spent by caring for and listening to patients.
• Aneurin Bevan – founder of the NHS – claimed that “ the sound of a dropped bedpan in a provincial hospital should be heard in Westminster “ and also expected the cost of the NHS to decrease as the population grew healthier.
• We’re now – whether in UK or Philippines – living longer, and with that come more cancers and other non-communicable diseases. These diseases are expensive to treat. Already the Government is devolving power, money and responsibility ( if things go wrong ) to clinicians. It remains to be seen whether this will work – and whether patients will notice any difference.
• Publicly funded healthcare, such as we have with the NHS, is relatively cheap ( around 8% of GDP ). It clearly needs more – to pay for more healthcare workers, and increasingly expensive treatments for an ageing population.
• There also needs to be more coordination between health care and social care for elderly and infirm, who don’t have medical conditions, yet block NHS beds. Obviously care by the person’s own family would often be best – and is more often the case in the Philippines than the UK.
• The NHS will probably define the 2015 election. Painful decisions will be needed – raise taxes ( perhaps “ hypothecated “ or ring-fenced for the NHS ); cut spending elsewhere; and/or allow more privatisation. There will however, always be a need for the NHS – accident and emergency, intensive care, and cancer treatments are not lucrative - unlike hip replacements, minor and cosmetic surgery.
• Finally, improving health ( the title of my thread ) is not just about praising, criticising, attempting to sue, or improving the health service. It’s about taking personal responsibility – diet, exercise, limiting alcohol and not smoking – and applies not only to individuals but also to the loved ones for whom they ( should ) bear responsibility. That would incidentally cut costs dramatically.
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Originally Posted by Foster
... [Doctor] Foster, 
... nor e'en from Paradise. 
