One Health Board is already planning on delaying ops, due to the public expected to be making "unprecedented demands" over the forthcoming winter period. Consequently, patients in Mid and West Wales, already waiting more than nine months for their first hospital appointment, can give up all hope of receiving their life-saving intervention until at least a year from now, thanks to Hywel Dda health board. Doubtless, the other four Health Boards will follow suit, in preference to making their traditional excuses that it's all our fault.
Mark Drakeford ( away from his frozen allotment ) helped the situation by stating that "Health Boards were doing all they could to prepare, but they are not immune to pressure" He fails to add that pressure will rise in proportion to the loss of A and E services elsewhere in Wales. Of course, he is confident that ambulance services will improve their performance although I don't fancy the chances of patients surviving up to the three hour drive to their nearest A and E department from the remote rural areas, even if they're not chronically ill. By the time they arrive at UHW, they can get more rest waiting to be delivered to the "Assessment Centre", until they eventually get to wait in a worn-out chair to be summoned by a doctor dressed in welcoming black.
After being assessed as 'still alive', you will experience the joy of waiting for a medical doctor ( dressed in mufti ) who will minutely examine your disease-ridden body whilst asking you questions about your condition - the answers to which are already on their computers. After ordering all tests, the pressured doctor will leave you for several more hours until the consultant becomes free enough to confirm that you either need major surgery, or that you are fit enough to go home.
[ after my own experience of the Revolving Door protocol, I was in extreme pain for a total of four weeks during which my G.P. kept repeating, "It will go, don't worry - take pain-killers and get plenty of rest". ] And still, the consultants shout that they are near 'meltdown', the poor highly paid dabs.
All the while, the over-worked staff ( nurses, porters, phlebs etc ) are expected to do twice as much in the same time as the last time they were overloaded. 'A spokeswoman' says "has my headcount reduced year on year ? and. "Is it likely to reduce again". Answer - "Yes, it has decreased and it is highly likely to reduce again, but it's transformational change rather than salami slicing is what gives us the benefit"
[ HUH ? What'd she say ? "Are we patients being referred to as Salami now ??? ). R. W.
Thursday, 21 November 2013
Wednesday, 20 November 2013
Views on Health Revamp Revealed ( really ? )
Views on Health Revamp Revealed ?
Why isn’t the information revealed ? – see www.wales.nhs.uk/swp/post-consultation-documents
So much information but few detailed
responses, with most of the responses Showing
no detail at
all.
How is, it that so much information – a huge volume of
print and illustrations – produces so few facts, yet churns out a boat-load of rhetoric –
meaningless, insincere and not worth the paper consumed by - voluminous publication ? For instance, 27,567 questionnaires were
completed but – you guessed it – not a single one is made available for us to
see.
Not surprisingly, the Universally Inept Health Board
still claim that their ‘Best Fit’ option is the most popular, but what do the
public say ? If you look at the written
responses ( I read every one of the
contents of 7 items ), the sum total of views were 244 against the proposed changes, with only 67 for any of the options. So, if we assume only half of the
questionnaires were supportive, then we still would see double the number of
those against the proposals. Therefore, the massive lie in this article
is that most responders were FOR the Best Fit option, with the written
responses favouring Option 4.
A spokesperson said that most Health Boards will make
their decision later in the year Based
on the above evidence, it would be really going against public opinion if any
of the changes were approved. Somehow, I
have a feeling that the NHS and our government will insist on total acceptance
of all of the changes. That would make
for a very sad day indeed !
With the sleet pouring down on us from the skies, it
cannot be long before the bleatings of blame on an 'unprecedented' number of us
are to blame for the forthcoming overload and inevitable gridlock. The real blame lies with the Government and
their NHS toadies who will have deliberately engineered this situation by
cutting resources to the bone. Mark my
words, no one in the government or the NHS will accept any responsibility for
the chaos and the inevitable increase in deaths that will result from their stupid, callous changes. R. W.
Tuesday, 12 November 2013
UHW apologises (again)
The Cardiff and Vale University Health Board has apologised to a young mother, after incorrectly diagnosing a silent miscarriage (otherwise known as a missed miscarriage), at the University Hospital of Wales.
A silent miscarriage is where the foetus' heart has stopped beating, however the female body has not recognised the loss, and therefore, does not abort the pregnancy in the typical 'miscarriage' scenario. Many women only find out about the loss at their routine 12 week scan (or 10.5 weeks in the C&VUHB area).
After the diagnosis, there would usually be a confirmation scan to ensure that this was indeed the correct diagnosis, then the woman would need to decide on a course of action which, would include a possible procedure to extract the remaining pregnancy from the uterus or tablets to encourage the body to miscarry iteself. In some cases, the body can naturally miscarry a week or so after the news of the loss. The whole process is deeply traumatic and can have lasting psychological effects on, not only the mother, but the father and any family involved.
Emily Wheatley, from Monmouth, was wrongly diagnosed with a silent miscarriage, by a sonographer at the University Hospital of Wales (UHW). It was discovered that the hospital is using guidelines that are two years out of date, and could have been making the same mistakes as far back as 2006.
Investigations only took place after the ombudsman, Mr Peter Tyndall, was involved in the above case, as the health board would not acknowledge any wrong doing.
Quote from BBC News:
Peter Tyndall, Public Service Ombudsman for Wales, said it was an "unacceptable mistake" which should have been avoided and he has called a review of midwife sonographers' competency.
The hospital has since accepted that they were at fault, and have taken measures to ensure this doesn't happen again, however I do wonder why it happened in the first place.
A doctor, working within children's and women's services, has estimated that a staggering 600+ women could have been affected by the out-of-date guidelines each year, since 2006. That could mean upwards of 4000 healthy babies, could have been wrongly aborted.
An apology really doesn't cover that.
BBC News:
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board's executive director of nursing, Ruth Walker, offered an "unreserved" apology to Ms Wheatley and said the said the board was "genuinely sorry that it has taken an ombudsman's report for her to receive the answers she deserved".
She said that correct procedures were now followed.
Luckily for Emily Wheatley, she chose to attend a different hospital, in a neighbouring health board, and was found to be carrying a healthy foetus, and carried to term, with a beautiful baby daughter resulting.
Women in the Cardiff and Vale area should be thankful to her for taking her plight further, and ensuring future women are not treated in this manner again.
Magpie. (please note, I am not medically trained and apologise if any terms are inaccurate)
A silent miscarriage is where the foetus' heart has stopped beating, however the female body has not recognised the loss, and therefore, does not abort the pregnancy in the typical 'miscarriage' scenario. Many women only find out about the loss at their routine 12 week scan (or 10.5 weeks in the C&VUHB area).
After the diagnosis, there would usually be a confirmation scan to ensure that this was indeed the correct diagnosis, then the woman would need to decide on a course of action which, would include a possible procedure to extract the remaining pregnancy from the uterus or tablets to encourage the body to miscarry iteself. In some cases, the body can naturally miscarry a week or so after the news of the loss. The whole process is deeply traumatic and can have lasting psychological effects on, not only the mother, but the father and any family involved.
Emily Wheatley, from Monmouth, was wrongly diagnosed with a silent miscarriage, by a sonographer at the University Hospital of Wales (UHW). It was discovered that the hospital is using guidelines that are two years out of date, and could have been making the same mistakes as far back as 2006.
Investigations only took place after the ombudsman, Mr Peter Tyndall, was involved in the above case, as the health board would not acknowledge any wrong doing.
Quote from BBC News:
Peter Tyndall, Public Service Ombudsman for Wales, said it was an "unacceptable mistake" which should have been avoided and he has called a review of midwife sonographers' competency.
The hospital has since accepted that they were at fault, and have taken measures to ensure this doesn't happen again, however I do wonder why it happened in the first place.
A doctor, working within children's and women's services, has estimated that a staggering 600+ women could have been affected by the out-of-date guidelines each year, since 2006. That could mean upwards of 4000 healthy babies, could have been wrongly aborted.
An apology really doesn't cover that.
BBC News:
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board's executive director of nursing, Ruth Walker, offered an "unreserved" apology to Ms Wheatley and said the said the board was "genuinely sorry that it has taken an ombudsman's report for her to receive the answers she deserved".
She said that correct procedures were now followed.
Luckily for Emily Wheatley, she chose to attend a different hospital, in a neighbouring health board, and was found to be carrying a healthy foetus, and carried to term, with a beautiful baby daughter resulting.
Women in the Cardiff and Vale area should be thankful to her for taking her plight further, and ensuring future women are not treated in this manner again.
Magpie. (please note, I am not medically trained and apologise if any terms are inaccurate)
Thursday, 7 November 2013
None so blind as those who will not see
Never mind the deaths, get the admin right !
After the University Hospital of Wales has been slated as being 'Dangerous' by the Royal College of Surgeons, Senior and junior doctor's organisations, had more deaths than Shipman, continued hospital-acquired infections - what do the hospital and government Mandarins do ! Why sit on their thumbs, of course, and the only time they open their mouths is to change feet !
After Mark Drakeford's disgraceful and inexplicable refusal to hold an enquiry into the poor management at UHW, the apparent wanton overspending and ( not forgetting ) the avoidable deaths of patients on the growing waiting lists, constitute a shameless admission of gross incompetence at the Universally Inept Hospital of Wales. The reports ( eg Royal College of Surgeons, Royal College of Nursing, Royal College of Psychiatrists etc ) are all based on fact, whereas the Minister's responses are based on complete fiction and blatant lies. No one in Government will correct the situation in the NHS because this would constitute an admission of failure - which is irrefutably the truth.
Let's get fully up to date, shall we ? Cardiff Vale Universally Inept Health Board issued their budget, showing that they had to make saving of £56.7m this fiscal year - Why ? no one has a clue. Yet Leslie Griffiths added a belated contingency fund of £80+m and then failed to report the budget overspend situation at the end of the same year. Recently, the Finance Minister, Jane Hutt announced an extra £570m for the NHS, over three years, with £150 m of that to be allocated to the remainder of this year. In addition it is reported that Labour has made £800m worth of cuts to the NHS over 5 years So, after all the murderous cuts followed by an extra dollop of £570m, what is the situation NOW ?
According to our latest Board executive, Adam Cairns, 380 jobs will have be cut before March 2014. THIS is following Mark Drakeford and Graham Shortland's declarations that "We will be prepared for the winter demand." It all makes perfect sense really : A and E and all other critical service have been cut and centralised, staff are to be made redundant, winter demands will be "Unprecedented" as usual, and they're letting at least 380 staff go. This means that there will be less facilities and less staff to handle the already increased demand ( from our growing population ) and NO additional staff 'on call' to handle the "Unprecedented demands". Reading the rest of Mr Cairn's pathetically inaccurate excuses for this drastic action ( at a time when the need for health services will be at its greatest ), will leave you completely bemused.
Some satisfaction could be harvested from this confusing state of affairs - IF - the 380 job losses were to be made from the Board and Senior managers of the hospital, along with the inept puppeteers and clowns in our government. Sadly, this will not be the case, with more nurses being heaved out and less doctors left, running around like blue-arsed flies.
Personally speaking, I find the situation staggering, confused and totally inadequate In short, a dog's breakfast or Fred Carno's Circus ( take your pick ). I shudder to think of how many deaths there must continue to be of patients stuck on waiting list for treatment. In addition, I am certain that the deaths amongst the elderly will increase tenfold - and all this due to the monumental incompetence of UHW, NHS Wales, and the Welsh Government. And - at the end of it all - the Echo will still be reporting 'good news' from these bodies, especially as investigative reporting of facts no longer exists ! And - OH,( I nearly forgot ) "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story". R. W.
After the University Hospital of Wales has been slated as being 'Dangerous' by the Royal College of Surgeons, Senior and junior doctor's organisations, had more deaths than Shipman, continued hospital-acquired infections - what do the hospital and government Mandarins do ! Why sit on their thumbs, of course, and the only time they open their mouths is to change feet !
After Mark Drakeford's disgraceful and inexplicable refusal to hold an enquiry into the poor management at UHW, the apparent wanton overspending and ( not forgetting ) the avoidable deaths of patients on the growing waiting lists, constitute a shameless admission of gross incompetence at the Universally Inept Hospital of Wales. The reports ( eg Royal College of Surgeons, Royal College of Nursing, Royal College of Psychiatrists etc ) are all based on fact, whereas the Minister's responses are based on complete fiction and blatant lies. No one in Government will correct the situation in the NHS because this would constitute an admission of failure - which is irrefutably the truth.
Let's get fully up to date, shall we ? Cardiff Vale Universally Inept Health Board issued their budget, showing that they had to make saving of £56.7m this fiscal year - Why ? no one has a clue. Yet Leslie Griffiths added a belated contingency fund of £80+m and then failed to report the budget overspend situation at the end of the same year. Recently, the Finance Minister, Jane Hutt announced an extra £570m for the NHS, over three years, with £150 m of that to be allocated to the remainder of this year. In addition it is reported that Labour has made £800m worth of cuts to the NHS over 5 years So, after all the murderous cuts followed by an extra dollop of £570m, what is the situation NOW ?
According to our latest Board executive, Adam Cairns, 380 jobs will have be cut before March 2014. THIS is following Mark Drakeford and Graham Shortland's declarations that "We will be prepared for the winter demand." It all makes perfect sense really : A and E and all other critical service have been cut and centralised, staff are to be made redundant, winter demands will be "Unprecedented" as usual, and they're letting at least 380 staff go. This means that there will be less facilities and less staff to handle the already increased demand ( from our growing population ) and NO additional staff 'on call' to handle the "Unprecedented demands". Reading the rest of Mr Cairn's pathetically inaccurate excuses for this drastic action ( at a time when the need for health services will be at its greatest ), will leave you completely bemused.
Some satisfaction could be harvested from this confusing state of affairs - IF - the 380 job losses were to be made from the Board and Senior managers of the hospital, along with the inept puppeteers and clowns in our government. Sadly, this will not be the case, with more nurses being heaved out and less doctors left, running around like blue-arsed flies.
Personally speaking, I find the situation staggering, confused and totally inadequate In short, a dog's breakfast or Fred Carno's Circus ( take your pick ). I shudder to think of how many deaths there must continue to be of patients stuck on waiting list for treatment. In addition, I am certain that the deaths amongst the elderly will increase tenfold - and all this due to the monumental incompetence of UHW, NHS Wales, and the Welsh Government. And - at the end of it all - the Echo will still be reporting 'good news' from these bodies, especially as investigative reporting of facts no longer exists ! And - OH,( I nearly forgot ) "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story". R. W.
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