7day a week NHS

byrnedjp

Registered User
Mar 21, 2013
168
0
London
Are you kidding me ............I mean seriously

7 days a week - it doesn't work now how can 7 days a week work

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Beggars belief
 

byrnedjp

Registered User
Mar 21, 2013
168
0
London
seriously

I pray nothing happens to my uncle at the end of the week - a sat/sun in hospital is a danger to an elderly person - that's a fact

7 days a week NHS is a farce,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

too many people - too few people who care
 

Lindy50

Registered User
Dec 11, 2013
5,242
0
Cotswolds
Well....I don't think they are intending to add a full two days' work to the current five....at least I hope not!

I am thinking of my daughter who is an NHS nurse on an oncology ward. They are totally run ragged from Monday to Friday, then everything is more or less 'on hold' for the weekend. Surely it must be better both for staff and patients, to spread the work over seven days, get a bit more treatment done, and more steadily, use the technology eg scanners more effectively, and have senior staff on at weekends....

Worth a try, I'd say.....:) x
 

byrnedjp

Registered User
Mar 21, 2013
168
0
London
they are intending - and it rings false

its stretched to capacity and beyond - I pity the good people who work within the NHS

it has too many people to care for and its failing as it stands today

7 days will expose even more of its shortcomings ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,sadly
 

Pickles53

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
2,474
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Radcliffe on Trent
It depends...and as usual the devil will be in the detail. If a GP, nurse, consultant, physio, receptionist, porter, radiologist etc. does not increase the hours they work and it's simply spread over 7 days instead of 5, then that might even out the pressure. However, it will surely cost more as most people would quite reasonably expect to be paid overtime for weekend working and wouldn't increase the total amount of care available.

If the idea is to hire more people, it takes quite a few years to train a nurse or doctor or physio etc. and of course the current government won't admit that some of them would have to come from abroad as they are so anti-immigration. I listened to a GP on Radio 4 yesterday who said that there is already a major recruitment problem with GPs retiring early and new medical graduates not wanting to go into general practice in sufficient numbers to maintain the current levels.

A number of our local GPs also now have fewer surgery hours every week because they have to spend time running the CCGs since the last re-organisation. That doesn't help make them more available for patients either.

My personal view: this is nothing more than a post-election sound bite and nothing will really change at all.
 

canary

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
25,018
0
South coast
Well....I don't think they are intending to add a full two days' work to the current five....at least I hope not!
...............
I think that is exactly what is intended. Our local hospital sees empty operating theatres, out-patient rooms, X-rays and scanners as wasted resources. They are already pushing for week-end clinics, ops and other appointments. There was a thread on here about someone who took their mum for a cataract op on a Saturday, but it couldnt be done because it required deeper sedation. So hospital managers will push for more and more facilities and back-up services. Eventually it will become like the shopping stores and supermarkets which are fully open 7 days a week and you dont get paid extra for working week-ends.

(Gets off soap box)
 

Saffie

Registered User
Mar 26, 2011
22,513
0
Near Southampton
I think that is exactly what is intended. Our local hospital sees empty operating theatres, out-patient rooms, X-rays and scanners as wasted resources. They are already pushing for week-end clinics, ops and other appointments. There was a thread on here about someone who took their mum for a cataract op on a Saturday, but it couldnt be done because it required deeper sedation. So hospital managers will push for more and more facilities and back-up services. Eventually it will become like the shopping stores and supermarkets which are fully open 7 days a week and you dont get paid extra for working week-ends.
What is so wrong with that? I, for one applaud the intention behind this. I just hope it can be fulfilled and yes, we are right to be cautious and a bit cynical but to dismiss it out of hand it just unfair.
The idea that people don't need hospital care at weekends is farcical. Anyone who has spent time in A&E at weekends will know how desperate the situation is, as will anyone who is in hospital and needs to speak to someone who actually knows what's going on. That's if they are able to remain in hospital as many are discharged on a Friday to reduce the number of staff needed to work.

Hospitals are already open and working at weekends, so why not work more efficiently and effectively so that care given can be more consistent and of more value to those who need it.

A number of our local GPs also now have fewer surgery hours every week because they have to spend time running the CCGs since the last re-organisation. That doesn't help make them more available for patients either.

There are 6 partners in our surgery and every one works part-time. Some do other lucative work, only one is invlolved with the CCG, but they obviously do not need to work any more hours than they choose to do. Recent governments have enhanced their working conditions. No evenings, no weekends and with these surely has to come less commitment.

The NHs is dying, something radical needs to be done. At least give them a chance.
 

katek

Registered User
Jan 19, 2015
191
0
If GP surgeries were open at weekends, that would greatly ease the pressure on A&E. At present, a large percentage of people who present themselves at A&E don't need to be there but are just frustrated they can't get a GP appointment when they need one. This, of course, clogs up the whole department and has a massive knock-on effect.

Hospitals themselves are of course 'open' all the time, but as Saffie and others have said, if they did more actual treatment at weekends, that would be a better use of resources and would help reduce waiting lists.

Effecting this change would take time and would of course require not only additional staff (with the resulting cost), but also a change in attitude from GPs and many senior doctors who at present get weekends 'off'. It remains to be seen if and when - and indeed how - it will happen.
 

GarageDragon

Registered User
Jan 20, 2015
28
0
I agree that having the NHS available 24/7 sounds like a great idea, but I do wonder how it is going to work. I'm not sure that having a properly working NHS in 'normal business hours', with proper facility for emergency care outside those hours might not be better... The devil is going to be in the detail...
 

Lindy50

Registered User
Dec 11, 2013
5,242
0
Cotswolds
What is so wrong with that? I, for one applaud the intention behind this. I just hope it can be fulfilled and yes, we are right to be cautious and a bit cynical but to dismiss it out of hand it just unfair.
The idea that people don't need hospital care at weekends is farcical. Anyone who has spent time in A&E at weekends will know how desperate the situation is, as will anyone who is in hospital and needs to speak to someone who actually knows what's going on. That's if they are able to remain in hospital as many are discharged on a Friday to reduce the number of staff needed to work.

Hospitals are already open and working at weekends, so why not work more efficiently and effectively so that care given can be more consistent and of more value to those who need it.



There are 6 partners in our surgery and every one works part-time. Some do other lucative work, only one is invlolved with the CCG, but they obviously do not need to work any more hours than they choose to do. Recent governments have enhanced their working conditions. No evenings, no weekends and with these surely has to come less commitment.

The NHs is dying, something radical needs to be done. At least give them a chance.

Well said Saffie :cool: Health care should operate 7 days a week in my view, whether at totally full strength or not. As Pickles says, the devil will be in the detail.....but I do applaud the government for at least trying to crack this problem.
 

Spiro

Registered User
Mar 11, 2012
534
0
To have a "seven-day" NHS needs more qualified staff. Not the same number of staff working different shift patterns. To factor in dementia care as well, doesn't bear thinking about.

The majority of nurses who have cared for my mother, are not from the UK.

Depending on the outcome of a referendum on Europe, plus any changes to laws on immigration, will surely present a serious challenge for the NHS.

The current system is struggling to cope with an ageing population, an ageing population which includes a lot of NHS staff. When they retire, who is going to replace them?
 
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canary

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
25,018
0
South coast
To have a "seven-day" NHS needs more qualified staff. Not the same number of staff working different shift patterns. To factor in dementia care as well, doesn't bear thinking about.

The majority of nurses who have cared for my mother, are not from the UK.

The outcome of a referendum on Europe, plus any changes to laws on immigration will surely present a serious challenge for the NHS.

The current system is struggling to cope with an ageing population, an ageing population which includes a lot of NHS staff. When they retire, who is going to replace them?

Just so.
And lots of staff are taking retirement as they dont want to do the extra hours at week-ends. This means that week-end clinics and ops are often done by locums and bank staff.
 

Saffie

Registered User
Mar 26, 2011
22,513
0
Near Southampton
Staffing is an issue now and will be in the future but the strain on the NHS at present isn't going to help recruitment nor encourage those already in the NHS to remain there.
Nor does it help to have raised the qualifications needed by nurses in this country when staff nurses who trained on the job with intermittent modules which they then put into practice on the wards, already did a good job. Many people I'm sure would make wonderful nurses but lack the qualifications to gain university entrance.
So much of what was a nurse's work is now undertaken by Health Care assistants but without the eqivalent salary.
The truth is that there are too many people needing hospital treatment nowadays and they can't all be fitted into a five day week.

Am I mad to be thinking that getting treatment for someone suffering and in pain is more important than a weekend shop?
 

canary

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
25,018
0
South coast
Saffie, I understand what you are saying, but it is going to be very difficult to implement because of the problem of recruitment. Management are trying to get people who already work there to extend their hours, but people dont generally like working at week-ends or may not be able to take on extra hours (they may be carers themselves, or mothers with young children), many posts are going unfilled and that means a reliance on locums and bank staff - which is expensive. There are also cost -cutting exercises in every department which up until now has meant not filling posts to save money. I do not see how to square this circle. Moral in hospital staff is generally very low (I might even say rock bottom) and quite a few people are leaving because of the increasing pressure.
I do not see the mess improving.
 

Saffie

Registered User
Mar 26, 2011
22,513
0
Near Southampton
That is all a given I know but doing nothing is going nowhere and soon the whole NHS will be lost.
All I am saying is that to dismiss any suggestion of trying to improve things is so very negative. It may not work but at least they are trying to find a solution.
This may not be the right one but it's better than sitting back and saying that nothing can be done. That won't help morale any.
 

jeany123

Registered User
Mar 24, 2012
19,034
0
74
Durham
That is all a given I know but doing nothing is going nowhere and soon the whole NHS will be lost.
All I am saying is that to dismiss any suggestion of trying to improve things is so very negative. It may not work but at least they are trying to find a solution.
This may not be the right one but it's better than sitting back and saying that nothing can be done. That won't help morale any.

You are right Saffie the NHS was started in 1948 and it must have taken a lot of work and changes to succeed, if it could be done then there should be a way it can be revolutionised now,


By the way I started a similar thread at the end of March
http://forum.alzheimers.org.uk/showthread.php?81160-This-sounds-a-way-forward-7-days-a-week-for-NHS
 

Lindy50

Registered User
Dec 11, 2013
5,242
0
Cotswolds
That is all a given I know but doing nothing is going nowhere and soon the whole NHS will be lost.
All I am saying is that to dismiss any suggestion of trying to improve things is so very negative. It may not work but at least they are trying to find a solution.
This may not be the right one but it's better than sitting back and saying that nothing can be done. That won't help morale any.

I agree. Regarding staffing, there will be some who would prefer to work weekends or evenings, because this fits in best with their family or caring commitments. And the pressure on staff and services from Monday to Friday is unsustainable as it stands. So I can't see any alternative to at least partial weekend working. Just my opinion.....:)
 

Lindy50

Registered User
Dec 11, 2013
5,242
0
Cotswolds
You are right Saffie the NHS was started in 1948 and it must have taken a lot of work and changes to succeed, if it could be done then there should be a way it can be revolutionised now,


By the way I started a similar thread at the end of March
http://forum.alzheimers.org.uk/showthread.php?81160-This-sounds-a-way-forward-7-days-a-week-for-NHS

Absolutely, jeany :) Sometimes I think we are too ready to think things can't be done. Where there's a will, there's a way! :)
 

Kjn

Registered User
Jul 27, 2013
5,833
0
About time and hope they can do it and get it right. I have worked in a&e and a GP practice , who does mon-fri nhs work for? Certainly not the general public.
Many GPs are retiring due to the politics involved in running surgeries, all data, figures and goalposts not what they went into the profession for, consultants who want to do what they have trained for but again dragged into the politics of it and so going abroad for more money and to do the work they want to do.
It is a mess , it needs help but staying as it is is not the answer either.

As said above due to child care there would be many happy to work weekends or evenings given the chance.
 
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