I1L2T3 Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 Like probedb says the thread title is totally misleading. The actual article relates to how to meet the challenge of caring for an aging population. The title of this thread should be changed. As to the article quoted, Nicholson is absolutely right. A general hospital ward is the worst place for an old person to be if they could be cared for somewhere else. Go into one of them places and it's clear why - limited privacy, the wrong type of staff, not enough staff to do the basic care, no activities, the wrong type of food etc... On that basis Nicholson is right that massive reform is needed. That reform would also make general wards more tuned to what they are really designed to do - care of medical and surgical patients. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minimo Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 The older I get the more I fear being hospitalised. I recently had a chest infection and the gp wanted to send me straight to hospital, but eventually agreed to treat me with antibiotics etc. Fortunately they worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bloom Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 As well as finding better ways of providing care nation ally, should we all take more responsibility for caring for our elders instead of palming them off on the NHS? Our elderly have paid in longer than anyone. I think they should be able to expect a decent level of care from the NHS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SevenRivers Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 The title is misleading. It reads as though hospitals are bad in general, when in actual fact it's about "Hospitals are "very bad places" to care for frail, elderly patients". The title is completely accurate if you are a senior citizen. ---------- Post added 21-01-2013 at 14:23 ---------- The older I get the more I fear being hospitalised. I recently had a chest infection and the gp wanted to send me straight to hospital, but eventually agreed to treat me with antibiotics etc. Fortunately they worked. After my Nan's experience, I think she'd rather just die than ever go in hospital again. They nearly killed her anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janie48 Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 .. As well as finding better ways of providing care nation ally, should we all take more responsibility for caring for our elders instead of palming them off on the NHS? If we are in a position to do so,as many of us are,then yes why not. Relying on the State to take the elderly frail off our hands is something we have got to used to doing in todays British Society. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bloom Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 After my Nan's experience, I think she'd rather just die than ever go in hospital again. They nearly killed her anyway. They did kill my Nan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plain Talker Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 I can't fault the care that I and the people on the ward I was on got when I was in as an emergency to have a pacemaker fitted. The care was top-class, and as it was a ward of about 8/10 I could see the way the other patients were being cared for. again, can't fault them. no "Liverpool pathways" on that ward (thank God!) I saw the staff leap into action, together, pretty much as a man, to successfully resuscitate a quite elderly patient when the patient went into cardiac arrest, I saw the gentleness with which the staff treated another very elderly lady who was very ill, and confused. The night nurse who dealt with my diabetic hypo in the early hours, during the time I was in did a fantastic job, not just in the immediate help and care, but in the following hours, where I needed hourly BM (Blood glucose monitoring) tests till my glucose had stabilised. The staff were utter gems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pottedplant Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 The title is misleading. It reads as though hospitals are bad in general, when in actual fact it's about "Hospitals are "very bad places" to care for frail, elderly patients". nope - not just the elderly. 35 year old vomited on floor due to chemo - called for nurse and was told off for not getting to loo in time (vomit left all night on floor by side of bed). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxman Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 Of course they are unhealthy places to be...they are full of sick people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I1L2T3 Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 This kind of discussion is going to happen more and more in the next few weeks. The coalition are gradually building a media campaign to create a preception of an NHS that is completely broken and uncaring. When the perception has reached a critical mass, when the majority of the public are made to believe there is a serious problem then a solution will be offered - mass privatisation of the service. It's exactly the same style of campaign they used against the disabled and the unemployed. It's clumsy and brazen but it pushes all the right buttons with certain parts of the electorate. Remember, that whenever the Tories (this time aided by the LibDems) bring in these kind of broad policies they tend to increase inequality - we see it in income, opportunity and now we are going to see it in healthcare. The NHS aims to offer a similar standard of care to everybody. People won't know what's hit them until they need to use what used to be the NHS. And they will be sorry for supporting these policies. It'll be too late though because many of the policies will not be possible to reverse - they will be designed that way. As for this saving money. Ultimately it won't. The aim is an american-style private system based on private insurance. The USA spends proportionately nearly double we do (18% vs 10% of GDP). Our spend will go up too. Private companies will cream off excessive profits. People will be hit in the pocket by insurance charges. Some people will be refused insurance. For others the costs will be prohibitive. A vast industry will develop aroung healthcare-related litigation because the new service will be very far from perfect, just like lmost every other healthcare system in the world is far from perfect. And it will cost the country (i.e. you and me) much more than it costs us now. We all know the NHS can be improved and reformed but be very, very careful what you wish for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.