"Only twelve months to wait" party.

[Cothi]

The Welsh are always up for a party!

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4758055.stm

Should they or shouldn't they. I think not.

[oncorhynchusmykis]

"The most recent waiting list figures, released on 26 April, showed that at the end of March there were no patients waiting more than 12 months for inpatient treatment or day case surgery.

There was also a major reduction in the number of patients waiting 12 months for a first outpatient appointment."

12 Months!!? Save for something like a heart transplant/bone marrow/etc., two weeks sounds excessive.

[rrw35]

Thank god for BUPA, thats all i can say.

[The Famous Grouse]

An excellent illustration of a poisoned climate of negativity and that good old Can't Do spirit.

Regardless of what the Government's NHS policy is/was/should be, the policy must be carried out not by the Government, but by the NHS employees.

If significant progress has been made, why shouldn't they celebrate? The moaning minnies trying to use this as a opportunity for more Labour-bashing are fruther demoralizing the people who make improvements happen.

I don't buy into the idea that your NHS will ever eliminate wating lists. There are, in fact, waiting lists here even within private systems because certain specialists are in high demand and can only perform a certain number of procedures a day.

Put a different party in charge and I doubt your results would change much. The system is large, complex, with high demand, high costs, and funding is always going to be limited.

Grouse

[3lbgrayling]

well said grouse.

jim

[Cothi]

Well I grant you there has been a relative improvement in the situation but the fact that there are waiting lists of "less than 12 months" is hardly a justification for a party? It is obviously an attempt to trumpet improvement by a desperately lame political group (otherwise they would have a private back-slapping beano wouldn't they) but it does seem a tad crass and, to be honest, rather stupid. That's the Welsh Assembly for you. When they're not fighting about the square footage of their offices and the extent of their expenses allowances, they are partying on the decks of the Titanic.

[RichardB]

There will always be waiting lists and those who will find them a reason to crititise the NHS and whatever government is in power.
Perhaps we should be more grateful that we have a system of free health care that is there when we really need it.
My father, now 79, suffered a heart attack last year, within 30 mins he was in an intensive care unit, within a day had two stainless sleeves placed in the offending collapsing arteries, all this done by a small incision in his leg and within another 2 days was home. By then he was placed in contact with the local health centre to provide a controlled exercise programme to get him back on his feet. He had previously gone swimming everyday but had to build back up to this. He has made a full recovery to which all our family are truly grateful to all the health professionals that made this possible and the cost , nothing. I wouldn't care to try and estimate what this would have cost in other countries,or whether they would have these facilities in the first place for the benefit of all.

RichardB

[The Famous Grouse]

Thank you for providing a counterbalance to the Gloom Merchant-ism, Richard. That's a great story and I hope you're father continues in good health.

I think it's good to remember how many conditions that are totally treatable or manageable today amounted to death sentences only 20 years ago. This is the good news to much of the bad news about the cost of heathcare. Waiting lists, high costs, shortages, etc. Bad news. Good news? Enduring all that is still better than dying or living a debilitated life.

My grandmother's family (on Ma's side) suffers from a terrible condition of arterial blockage in the legs. Most of my Grandma's female relatives (her mother, grandmother, two aunts) had to have one or both legs amputated because the limbs died from poor circulation.

When my grandmother began to experience symptoms 5 years ago she was very fearful that she would be going down the same grim path. The doctors looked at her and said the situation was very, very bad. 80 to 90 percent blockage in most major arteries.

What did they do? Installed a complete new set of Gore-tex arteries in her legs. Worked great. Back on her feet at age 90 with great circulation. All done on Social Security's Medicare program at no cost to her.

Got to admit it's getting better. . .

Grouse

[Cothi]

What have the previous two posts got to do with whether it is wise or not to have a party because waiting times are now slightly below 12 months for non-emergencies? Focus please.

[The Famous Grouse]

Do you honestly mean you cannot see the connection, or are you just being obtuse?

Focus please on what? You posted and seem to have drawn your conclusion based on one article that is almost completely devoid of facts by which one might draw an informed conclusion.

And so perhaps some personal experience might add to a valid discussion instead of snap judgments based on a PopMedia article?

From the stories above, one MAY be prompted to think about:

Better technology = higher cost + more/better care for patients that just a few years ago would have died from condition.

More/better care for patients = more patients in treatment instead of dead / disabled.

More patients in treatment = higher costs and high demand for services = waiting times for limited resources.

Points that one may derive if from previous stories if one reads them with brain engaged:

1. Perhaps wait lists cannot be solely attributed to Government bungling?

2. Perhaps celebration is warranted because even as wait times have decreased, demand and technology have increased the strain on the system? Thus, perhaps more progress is being made than one may have thought?

3. Can one really draw a conclusion about if the party is warranted based on the information provided in the article? Who is included on the wait lists? With what conditions? What are the reasons for them being on the wait list? Is it all the Government's fault or are there other contributing factors?

Grouse

[Cothi]

Why is a republican gun-toter from Minnesota an apologist for the NHS and the Labour party in Wales?

Oh and before you ask - I have homes and children in the UK and intend going back to live there quite soon.

[The Famous Grouse]

cothi said:

Why is a republican gun-toter from Minnesota an apologist for the NHS and the Labour party in Wales?

Oh and before you ask - I have homes and children in the UK and intend going back to live there quite soon.

Because this republican gun-toter from Minnesota is married to a English woman who still has family, including a brother, living in the UK.

Said brother, as it happens, works in the civil service and is very much in the rock/hard place position of being between the public and the government when it comes to another issue: Pensions.

Ouch, that hurt didn't it? Really walked into that one. I now look forward to you pretending you didn't see this post.

Grouse

[Cothi]

No, I knew about your English connection but I was asking why you were an apologist for the NHS and the Labour party in Wales - it is Rhodri Morgan's boys and girls that had a party. So you can take that smug look off your face for a start and try to read posts more carefully in future lest we start describing you as writing stupid as well as old.

[The Famous Grouse]

cothi said:

No, I knew about your English connection but I was asking why you were an apologist for the NHS and the Labour party in Wales - it is Rhodri Morgan's boys and girls that are going to have a party. So you can take that smug look off your face for a start and try to read posts more carefully in future lest we start describing you as writing stupid as well as old.

Cothi, thank you for clarifying. Your previous post was unclear so I had to interpret what exactly it was that you were questioning. I write old, but I also try to write clearly.

The party was in Wales. I'm missing the part where it says the waiting list in question is solely tied to Wales. Is it not the UK list as a whole?

Grouse

[Cothi]

No, it was in Wales and I was having more of a pot at the Welsh Assembly (read talking shop) who will use any excuse to party and promenade than I was at the NHS - see my second post above.

Also see this:


news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4946210.stm