...Brought tears to my eyes...
Such a beautiful dream!
Now let's see - what is the government's version of a wish list:
1. Get re-elected.
2. Promise anything that will achieve #1.
3. Shut up all those who endanger #1 with their common sense by making
enough #2's relevant to them... Keeps them hoping, not thinking, while
government works on #1!
4. Make bad press about all those for whom #3 fails, just to keep them on
the defensive, so they don't object to #2 and prevent #1...
>From: [log in to unmask] (Rowland Cottingham)
>Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
>To: [log in to unmask]
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>Subject: Will this money make a difference?
>Date: Sun, 26 Mar 2000 07:12 +0100 (BST)
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>
>This time it really does not appear to be hot air. I read the actual text
>of the Budget speech, and the NHS is being promised 6.1% a year
>compounding up to a remarkable £19 billion. The current spend on the NHS
>is £45 billion, so this is an enormous input.
>
>I wonder how much of that will actually filter down to the coal face, as
>if my hospital is any guide, considerable amounts of money need to be
>spent simply to repair the infrastructure and bring services up to a
>sensible standard.
>
>However, I think we could do worse than try and arrive at a consensus
>wishlist. Here are some that would seem to be a positive start from the
>patient's viewpoint, not necessarily in any particular order; I'm sure
>there are many more:
>
>1. 80% of patients are seen within 1 hour, irrespective of complaint, by
>the end of March 2002. Any patient with significant pain is seen
>effectively immediately.
>
>2. 90% of patients have access to a major A&E unit
>within 30 minutes' normal road travel (i.e. not a blue-light ambulance);
>every town of 50,000 or more has a major unit.
>
>3. All A&E departments have access to 24 hour pathology services by end
>March 2001.
>
>4. All A&E departments have access to 24 hour CT, MR and ultrasound by end
>March 2002.
>
>5. The Government's closure programme is halted immediately and all
>threatened units are reviewed individually in the light of target 2.
>
>
>6. The BAEM staffing recommendations are accepted in full, with
>implementation of training and middle grade levels by end 2002 and career
>levels by end 2006.
>
>7. A review of nursing numbers required for patient
>care is undertaken nationally to determine what the correct staffing
>levels are for various sizes of department, and the recommendations fully
>implemented by end 2004.
>
>8. All departments to be computerised by end 2002.
>
>9. No patient waits more than one hour for a bed.
>
>Many of these look unattainable, but I believe that we must regain the
>initiative from the managers and remind them that humanity is a large part
>of medicine. The one thing I find terribly demoralising is to have a
>continuous stream of exasperated punters who see no good reason for being
>dammed up in a waiting room - indeed, the very presence of such a room is
>an admission of failure of sorts. Better staffing, more efficient use of
>support services and not closing major units - it has to be the way to go.
>
>
>Best wishes,
>
>
>Rowley Cottingham
>
>[log in to unmask]
>
>
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