Interesting health story

[icowden]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjjzyp635w1o

Dad borrowed £10k to solve 'beetroot baby' mystery​

This is a news story about a dad who took his baby to Guys and St Thomas A&E after he had skin reactions and swelling following a breast feed.
He spent £10k on going to a private health clinic which diagnosed an egg allergy.

So far so good.

The odd thing is that the private clinic is run by Prof Helen Brough. Who she? Well she runs the largest Children's Allergy Service in the UK at the Evelina Children's Hospital - part of Guys and St Thomas Hospital. So £10k spent because the A&E docs didn't grab someone from the Evelina.

 

[Beebo]

I suspect this is a waiting list issue.
The NHS would have discovered the issue eventually.

“When we were waiting for the NHS, there was no urgency there," said Ray, a personal trainer.
"Eventually, we just had enough."


On a similar note my wife needed treatment for a knee problem. The NHS consultant said they could do nothing. So she went private via work insurance and the exact same consultant did a keyhole operation.
That’s life with an over stretched NHS.

 

[Rusty Nails]

I suspect this is a waiting list issue.
The NHS would have discovered the issue eventually.

“When we were waiting for the NHS, there was no urgency there," said Ray, a personal trainer.
"Eventually, we just had enough."


On a similar note my wife needed treatment for a knee problem. The NHS consultant said they could do nothing. So she went private via work insurance and the exact same consultant did a keyhole operation.
That’s life with an over stretched NHS.

Has been like this for at least 20 years.

When he was 19 and in university my son started to have eyesight problems and was referred to an NHS consultant. Told there would be a 2 or 3 month wait.

We paid to go to BUPA within three days. Turned out it was brain tumours destroying his optic nerves. Radiotherapy treatment started within a week and it got rid of the tumours. He is now partially sighted but it would have been far, far worse if we had waited to see an NHS consultant.

Incidentally the NHS eye consultant my son saw after the cancer treatment was the one we paid to see at BUPA.

I still believe in the NHS but have no issue in by-passing them now to avoid delay on what might be important conditions. I am lucky I can afford it.

 

[newfhouse]

That’s life with an over stretched NHS.

I’ve just moved from London. My current predicted wait for orthopaedic care is 64 weeks when it was 12. Why is nobody rioting?

 

[PK99]

Various hospitals in SW London and Surrey a number of years ago recognised that Orthropedic Elective Surgery waiting times were driven primarily by the take over of operating facilities to deal with Emergency Trauma cases.

They therefore established a stand alone South West London Elective Orthropedic Centre based at Epsom hospital: SWLEOC.

More recently, actually during the Pandemic, on the same principle the same group of hospitals established a stand alone Day Surgery Diagnostic Unit at Queen Mary Hospital, Roehampton. Covering mainly Urology and associated Diagnostic Surgery.

In 2016 I had an ACL Reconstruction at SWLEOC within the 18 week target and essentially on a date of my choosing.

More recently, early this year, I went from PSA blood test, to MRI to scheduled biopsy at Roehampton in ~2 weeks from my request to have a PSA test.

Adequate funding is clearly available for such services if different Hospitals and services are willing to work cooperatively and patients are prepared to travel to the dedicated units.

Other parts of the country have established similar units and services.

We don't hear about them because they are Good News that does not match the Bad News = Click Bait Politics agenda.

 

[spen666]

I’ve just moved from London. My current predicted wait for orthopaedic care is 64 weeks when it was 12. Why is nobody rioting?

What will rioting achieve, other than damaging property that will need to be replaced at public cost, thus diverting more funds from NHS.

 

[newfhouse]

What will rioting achieve, other than damaging property that will need to be replaced at public cost, thus diverting more funds from NHS.

Deadpan. Nicely done, you nearly had me there.

 

[BoldonLad]

Various hospitals in SW London and Surrey a number of years ago recognised that Orthropedic Elective Surgery waiting times were driven primarily by the take over of operating facilities to deal with Emergency Trauma cases.

They therefore established a stand alone South West London Elective Orthropedic Centre based at Epsom hospital: SWLEOC.

More recently, actually during the Pandemic, on the same principle the same group of hospitals established a stand alone Day Surgery Diagnostic Unit at Queen Mary Hospital, Roehampton. Covering mainly Urology and associated Diagnostic Surgery.

In 2016 I had an ACL Reconstruction at SWLEOC within the 18 week target and essentially on a date of my choosing.

More recently, early this year, I went from PSA blood test, to MRI to scheduled biopsy at Roehampton in ~2 weeks from my request to have a PSA test.

Adequate funding is clearly available for such services if different Hospitals and services are willing to work cooperatively and patients are prepared to travel to the dedicated units.

Other parts of the country have established similar units and services.

We don't hear about them because they are Good News that does not match the Bad News = Click Bait Politics agenda.

As you say, a heartwarming story of sensible management and good use of resources, if only it were commonplace.

Mrs @BoldonLad is currently having treatment in a nearby Dermatology Department. We have had to travel to it, because it is in a neighbouring NHS trust. The Consultant suggested she obtain copies of some medical photographs, taken as part of her diagnosis/treatment. The process to do this is unbelievably complicated and bureaucratic, and, no doubt implying several people, perhaps a whole department. All of this apparently because these particular records are in the possession of a different NHS Trust, to the one covering our local area. Silly me, I thought the "N" in NHS stood for National.

 

[icowden]

The process to do this is unbelievably complicated and bureaucratic, and, no doubt implying several people, perhaps a whole department. All of this apparently because these particular records are in the possession of a different NHS Trust, to the one covering our local area. Silly me, I thought the "N" in NHS stood for National.

It's a process that the National Project for IT was supposed to solve. Unfortunately the Government are unbelievably stupid. They elected for a competitive tender process which meant that you had multiple suppliers all of whom didn't have software which would talk to the other suppliers. The devolved government of Scotland on the other hand just bought a single system for the whole of Scotland. So if you go into any hospital in Scotland, your records can be viewed from any other hospital in Scotland.

Wales have now done a similar thing.

In England however IT is still purchased on a Trust by Trust basis and each Trust is the owner of all the medical records at that Trust. There isn't an electronic link in the majority of instances to be able to transfer electronic records from one hospital to another so some poor sod has to try and print out all of the digital records and arrange for a secure courier service. Ideally they prefer the patient to go to the other hospital as the hospital has to give them copies of their records and it's quicker than trying to get them sent hospital to hospital

 

[AndyRM]

It's a process that the National Project for IT was supposed to solve. Unfortunately the Government are unbelievably stupid. They elected for a competitive tender process which meant that you had multiple suppliers all of whom didn't have software which would talk to the other suppliers. The devolved government of Scotland on the other hand just bought a single system for the whole of Scotland. So if you go into any hospital in Scotland, your records can be viewed from any other hospital in Scotland.

Wales have now done a similar thing.

In England however IT is still purchased on a Trust by Trust basis and each Trust is the owner of all the medical records at that Trust. There isn't an electronic link in the majority of instances to be able to transfer electronic records from one hospital to another so some poor sod has to try and print out all of the digital records and arrange for a secure courier service. Ideally they prefer the patient to go to the other hospital as the hospital has to give them copies of their records and it's quicker than trying to get them sent hospital to hospital

I knew it was bad, but I hadn't realised it was quite that antiquated. Wow.

 

[BoldonLad]

It's a process that the National Project for IT was supposed to solve. Unfortunately the Government are unbelievably stupid. They elected for a competitive tender process which meant that you had multiple suppliers all of whom didn't have software which would talk to the other suppliers. The devolved government of Scotland on the other hand just bought a single system for the whole of Scotland. So if you go into any hospital in Scotland, your records can be viewed from any other hospital in Scotland.

Wales have now done a similar thing.

In England however IT is still purchased on a Trust by Trust basis and each Trust is the owner of all the medical records at that Trust. There isn't an electronic link in the majority of instances to be able to transfer electronic records from one hospital to another so some poor sod has to try and print out all of the digital records and arrange for a secure courier service. Ideally they prefer the patient to go to the other hospital as the hospital has to give them copies of their records and it's quicker than trying to get them sent hospital to hospital

Yes, I know the history, there was an earlier very expensive and failed attempt at a unified IT system. £14billion down the drain I believe. Not sure which lot were in power then.

I have had the miss-fortune to work for a couple of NHS trusts, shambolic is too kind.

 

[BoldonLad]

I knew it was bad, but I hadn't realised it was quite that antiquated. Wow.

I can assure you, it is pathetic, and, has been for many years.

 

[icowden]

I can assure you, it is pathetic, and, has been for many years.

The sad thing is that when they do get stuff right, they then stuff it up. At the end of NpFIT in 2015 all Community Trusts (so outpatients and outpatient childrens services like health visiting, school nursing etc) in London and the South of England had a system whereby they could see data held by each other. Because the project ended the hosting with BT was cancelled and all the Trusts had to tender for new contracts. Because there was no longer shared hosting, all of that connectivity (which had only been in place for about a year) was lost and everyone was back to square one.

Guys and St Thomas built their own information sharing network with Kings, Lewisham etc - hospitals that they are in a network with - because it was easier than having to buy something. Although now this is being replaced with EPIC (US software) at a cost of about £250 million.

 

[BoldonLad]

The sad thing is that when they do get stuff right, they then stuff it up. At the end of NpFIT in 2015 all Community Trusts (so outpatients and outpatient childrens services like health visiting, school nursing etc) in London and the South of England had a system whereby they could see data held by each other. Because the project ended the hosting with BT was cancelled and all the Trusts had to tender for new contracts. Because there was no longer shared hosting, all of that connectivity (which had only been in place for about a year) was lost and everyone was back to square one.

Guys and St Thomas built their own information sharing network with Kings, Lewisham etc - hospitals that they are in a network with - because it was easier than having to buy something. Although now this is being replaced with EPIC (US software) at a cost of about £250 million.

Sad is an appropriate word, in my experience of the NHS. Politicians need to keep their noses out, and, the Management need to earn their Salaries, and, be held to account, the medical bits will do, for now.

 

[spen666]

Deadpan. Nicely done, you nearly had me there.

So you are unable or unwilling to tell us what good rioting will achieve?