All entries for Monday 18 July 2005

July 18, 2005

Discussion Primer: More evidence of the appaling state of the NHS

A report on the Today programme this morning made clear the worries of many who have to deal with the NHS for maternity services.

Britain has the third worst infant mortality rate in Europe. Slovakia is worse. And more worryingly, the hospitals will not admit that they have a problem. They just spend more on drugs and surgery, staggering amounts of money in comparison with other European countries. The government is having to resort to direct control over the worst units, applying 'special measures'. The inspector who was interviewed stated that a lack of co-ordination, poor leadership and a lack of training is behind this. However, the message seems to be that the midwives are good, and where the service is led by midwives, it can be excellent. The division between midwives and doctors is well documented, and illustrates some of the fundamental cultural issues that may prevent the NHS from ever becoming a success.

I do believe that Warwick Hospital is one of the really good ones. However, even there we have already experienced a lack of co-ordination and some poor quality doctors who seem to be working according to rigid and simplistic procedures, and concerned primarily with avoiding medical negligence claims. This latter problem is very serious. They mention it constantly, which is not surprising considering the vast amount of damages that get awarded against the NHS in this part of the service. The result is that doctors will follow the guidelines to ensure that they have official back-up for every act, thus reducing individual consultation time, and failing to treat cases on an individual basis.

I have no idea of how the NHS can be fixed. The problems run too deep. My expectation is that the politicians will continue to fiddle with it for a couple of more years, and then decide that it is just too difficult. They will eventually avoid the responsibility with a rapid sell-off. Anyone got any better ideas?

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Comments welcome!


Robert O'Toole : 18 Jul 2005 08:13 |  Tags:       |  Comments (6) |  Report a problem