Waste in the NHS
Discussion
Don't know if this should be in the Health Forum but, as it's not about a Health issue really, thought I'd post here first.
I have a regular prescription for inhalation capsules for COPD. For each new prescription I get a new inhaler when I can still use the current one.
I've just this morning placed a new prescription and, in the comments section, stated that I didn't need a new inhaler as I had one.
Just had a call from the Surgery to tell me I had to have a new one as "They are included automatically" and it can't be stopped.
The Surgery Receptionist agreed that they are not needed for each new prescription and that the Pharmaceutical company was making even more money for something not needed. No idea how much they charge but would cynically imagine it's way more than a vac formed piece of plastic costs to make.
I was told by a friend that whenever his Daughter orders her prescription which is administered using an Eppi Pen (sp?) she gets a new pen, again, not needed.
Given that thousands of these types of prescriptions are filled every day, how much more is this costing the NHS, who state they are short of funds?
I have a regular prescription for inhalation capsules for COPD. For each new prescription I get a new inhaler when I can still use the current one.
I've just this morning placed a new prescription and, in the comments section, stated that I didn't need a new inhaler as I had one.
Just had a call from the Surgery to tell me I had to have a new one as "They are included automatically" and it can't be stopped.
The Surgery Receptionist agreed that they are not needed for each new prescription and that the Pharmaceutical company was making even more money for something not needed. No idea how much they charge but would cynically imagine it's way more than a vac formed piece of plastic costs to make.
I was told by a friend that whenever his Daughter orders her prescription which is administered using an Eppi Pen (sp?) she gets a new pen, again, not needed.
Given that thousands of these types of prescriptions are filled every day, how much more is this costing the NHS, who state they are short of funds?
The NHS unfortunately is very wasteful in most areas, my sister in law who is a Matron at a West London hospital recently told me how frustrated she was at her request to have a noticeboard installed for staff use.
Took 3 months to install and cost £300, this is a simple cork board screwed to a wall! Whoever agrees to maintenance contracts like that needs to spoken to, just like the wastage for items being duplicated just because its easier to prescribe a complete set..
Took 3 months to install and cost £300, this is a simple cork board screwed to a wall! Whoever agrees to maintenance contracts like that needs to spoken to, just like the wastage for items being duplicated just because its easier to prescribe a complete set..
MyM2006 said:
The NHS unfortunately is very wasteful in most areas, my sister in law who is a Matron at a West London hospital recently told me how frustrated she was at her request to have a noticeboard installed for staff use.
Took 3 months to install and cost £300, this is a simple cork board screwed to a wall! Whoever agrees to maintenance contracts like that needs to spoken to, just like the wastage for items being duplicated just because its easier to prescribe a complete set..
My sister also worked in the NHS. Seems contractors see a cash cow and pluck a figure out of the air. Whoever signs off the contracts really do need sorting but, hey, it's not their money. Same as councils!Took 3 months to install and cost £300, this is a simple cork board screwed to a wall! Whoever agrees to maintenance contracts like that needs to spoken to, just like the wastage for items being duplicated just because its easier to prescribe a complete set..
I do actually feel strongly enough about this to fire off an e mail to my local councillor. Don't hold out much hope though!
Short Grain said:
MyM2006 said:
The NHS unfortunately is very wasteful in most areas, my sister in law who is a Matron at a West London hospital recently told me how frustrated she was at her request to have a noticeboard installed for staff use.
Took 3 months to install and cost £300, this is a simple cork board screwed to a wall! Whoever agrees to maintenance contracts like that needs to spoken to, just like the wastage for items being duplicated just because its easier to prescribe a complete set..
My sister also worked in the NHS. Seems contractors see a cash cow and pluck a figure out of the air. Whoever signs off the contracts really do need sorting but, hey, it's not their money. Same as councils!Took 3 months to install and cost £300, this is a simple cork board screwed to a wall! Whoever agrees to maintenance contracts like that needs to spoken to, just like the wastage for items being duplicated just because its easier to prescribe a complete set..
I do actually feel strongly enough about this to fire off an e mail to my local councillor. Don't hold out much hope though!
I am one of the "scum" money making contractors to public sector only I am not really.
My company contracts its ervices to the public sector. We do not charge the earth for the services we supply however the company in charge of the contract to supply/manage the civil service division adds a management fee on top of every bit of work we do.
I wont go into specifics but i can say they they are charging a fee of over 100% for "managing" the work. This means if we quote £10 the civil service actually receivs a bill for in excess of £20 for the main contract holder to copy, paste onto their own letterhead and forward our quote.
The financial waste in the public sector is devastating. Utterly. At a guess i think if i was given half a chance I could comfortably save the civil service a minimum billion pounds a year without putting much effort in at all.
Sadly the people who agree the contracts havent a clue what they are doing or agreeing to and end up signing stupid contracts.
Unfortunately there is also an issue with contractors taking the piss on a grand scale.
All of that said there is a flip side to all of this.
In the example of the cork board for a company to send someone to site to fit the board costs money for the employees wages, vehicle, insurance etc etc etc. Granted i think £300 to hang a cork board is possibly a bit excessive but it depends how many people were sent to site etc.
A lot of these costs (putting up a display board etc) are due to the PFI contracts that are in place (Blair/Brown initiative). The NHS effectively rents the building and cannot do anything to it - this can even include the changing of lightbulbs !
Very similar story with PFI schools, with schools having to apply for approval to stay open longer (in the event of a school production) and paying for it.
Very similar story with PFI schools, with schools having to apply for approval to stay open longer (in the event of a school production) and paying for it.
A lot of unfair sweeping generalisations going on - waste is not universal by any stretch of the imagination.
The NHS organisation I work for has it's own employed joiners (circa £25k per annum) who would put up notice boards as part of their job, following a request to estates from the service. The notice boards also cost about £10-20 as we have national contracts for them. So for us it's probably about £30 in total for something like that.
The NHS organisation I work for has it's own employed joiners (circa £25k per annum) who would put up notice boards as part of their job, following a request to estates from the service. The notice boards also cost about £10-20 as we have national contracts for them. So for us it's probably about £30 in total for something like that.
The NHS wastes a lot of money, but it's what happens when red tape is introduced over many decades.
A figure I was given a few years ago was if you wanted a small room redecorated and a sink installed you're looking at £20,000. This is because:
- The NHS needs to use contractors with appropriate certifications, which means there is no competiton
- Sinks must meet a certain specification and supply contracts mean there is no competition
- Materials used (ceiling tiles, plaster board etc) have the same problem
You're even limited on choice of paint colours and where it comes from.
In the hospital I work at they want a new MRI suite with two new scanners. The original quote for the modular build (glorified portacabin) to house it was £2 million. Within 8 months that figure had doubled for no reason whatsoever.
What's really bad is that the government wants to create a competitive market for services by allowing private providers to bid for them. Their theory is that they will be run more efficiently. Now whether or not you agree it's worked, it's kind of irrelevant all the time supply/building contracts are so anti-competitive and are perpetually draining large sums of money out of the system into private hands. At least money lost in inefficient NHS services doesn't generate massive profits for someone else leaching from the system - it generates more jobs for ordinary people.
A figure I was given a few years ago was if you wanted a small room redecorated and a sink installed you're looking at £20,000. This is because:
- The NHS needs to use contractors with appropriate certifications, which means there is no competiton
- Sinks must meet a certain specification and supply contracts mean there is no competition
- Materials used (ceiling tiles, plaster board etc) have the same problem
You're even limited on choice of paint colours and where it comes from.
In the hospital I work at they want a new MRI suite with two new scanners. The original quote for the modular build (glorified portacabin) to house it was £2 million. Within 8 months that figure had doubled for no reason whatsoever.
What's really bad is that the government wants to create a competitive market for services by allowing private providers to bid for them. Their theory is that they will be run more efficiently. Now whether or not you agree it's worked, it's kind of irrelevant all the time supply/building contracts are so anti-competitive and are perpetually draining large sums of money out of the system into private hands. At least money lost in inefficient NHS services doesn't generate massive profits for someone else leaching from the system - it generates more jobs for ordinary people.
Brainpox said:
In the hospital I work at they want a new MRI suite with two new scanners. The original quote for the modular build (glorified portacabin) to house it was £2 million. Within 8 months that figure had doubled for no reason whatsoever.
.
You know an MRI scanner has to be in a appropriately shielded room. Which isn't that simple.... and is a bit more than a glorified porter cabin. .
Would be cheaper to build an actual building, but I suspect your Trust has boxed itself into a corner on timing, hence the more expensive modular build.
An MRI Arctic trailer would be cheaper.
Bertrum said:
You know an MRI scanner has to be in a appropriately shielded room. Which isn't that simple.... and is a bit more than a glorified porter cabin.
Would be cheaper to build an actual building, but I suspect your Trust has boxed itself into a corner on timing, hence the more expensive modular build.
An MRI Arctic trailer would be cheaper.
I think patients might be reluctant to strip down to a hospital gown in your trailer... Would be cheaper to build an actual building, but I suspect your Trust has boxed itself into a corner on timing, hence the more expensive modular build.
An MRI Arctic trailer would be cheaper.
Europa1 said:
Bertrum said:
You know an MRI scanner has to be in a appropriately shielded room. Which isn't that simple.... and is a bit more than a glorified porter cabin.
Would be cheaper to build an actual building, but I suspect your Trust has boxed itself into a corner on timing, hence the more expensive modular build.
An MRI Arctic trailer would be cheaper.
I think patients might be reluctant to strip down to a hospital gown in your trailer... Would be cheaper to build an actual building, but I suspect your Trust has boxed itself into a corner on timing, hence the more expensive modular build.
An MRI Arctic trailer would be cheaper.
My gran has medicines stockpiled, enough to last her until she is about 300 years old (She does tend to hoard stuff), it just turns up and get put in a cupboard, she has gone in a nursing home, its all in date but the nursing home say they cant use any of it, seems like a huge waste.
Just another minor example of waste.
My G.P. made a hospital appointment for me, when she diagnosed conjunctivitis in one eye, and noticed a tiny scratch on the cornea.
When I attended the hospital, they said that the scratch was nothing, forget it, but prescribed some lubrication drops for the eye, as they said that eyes tend to dry up as you get older.
The specialist tapped his computer keyboard, then printed out, and gave me a letter for a follow up check in six weeks time.
Two days later, an identical letter arrived on the doormat, via the mail man, go figure.
My G.P. made a hospital appointment for me, when she diagnosed conjunctivitis in one eye, and noticed a tiny scratch on the cornea.
When I attended the hospital, they said that the scratch was nothing, forget it, but prescribed some lubrication drops for the eye, as they said that eyes tend to dry up as you get older.
The specialist tapped his computer keyboard, then printed out, and gave me a letter for a follow up check in six weeks time.
Two days later, an identical letter arrived on the doormat, via the mail man, go figure.
drfrank said:
A lot of these costs (putting up a display board etc) are due to the PFI contracts that are in place (Blair/Brown initiative). The NHS effectively rents the building and cannot do anything to it - this can even include the changing of lightbulbs !
Very similar story with PFI schools, with schools having to apply for approval to stay open longer (in the event of a school production) and paying for it.
TBF if the hospital is built "for free" the contractor / investor needs to recover the cost somehow hence "increased" charges for most items.Very similar story with PFI schools, with schools having to apply for approval to stay open longer (in the event of a school production) and paying for it.
TX.
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