Whilst the NHS has improved dramatically over the last few years and the services provided by GPs extended in breadth and depth there is still a long way to go.
In any delivery system the three drivers are quality, timeliness and cost. Objectives have to be set for each of these and delivered.
I sense the NHS is driven more by quality and neglects, to some extent the other two. Private Industry has for years been learning how to deliver all three and there are lessons to be learned from them.
The current medical paradigm has to be addressed.
Can private profit making organisations yield this, I think so.
Private consultations are on time. Is this true of GP appointments. I went with my 98 year old mother to the GP and was seen by the doctor one hour late. No explanation or apology.
The “Family” doctor is a paradigm. I just want to be made well and all I need is a competent doctor.
Remember the old BT, remember the old Power Suppliers, remember the NCB. These have changed for the better with privatisation and competition; surely if the NHS is as good as some claim then it can withstand the commercial onslaught.
Amen to much of this. The principles of the NHS should be upheld, but there is no good evidence that our public services are the most efficient providers; indeed some of our private providers, through efficiency, nimbleness and the improved service that private practice demands, often do better, when engaged by PCT’s or trusts(and at no greater cost!). I spent a career in the NHS which included much frustration with mind-numbingly cumbersome and inefficient administration – my eyes were opened to this by a spell working in Canada with excellent subcontracted administration – no meetings; just phone calls to appropriate staff who had the authority and responsibility to get things done. Unless there are gigantic paradigm shifts, i don’t see such efficiencies coming to many parts of the NHS.
The ‘family’ doctor is essential. I think everyone would agree that you want a doctor to make you well. But I’m sure that many would also argue that the professional relationship between doctor and patient is equally vital. This is what a ‘family’ doctor provides. It encourages treatment compliance and consultation from the patient, and for the doctor turns the patient into a person rather than a timeslot. I fear that privatisation of NHS services will lead to the erosion of the important doctor-patient relationship, so critical especially in Primary Care.