Sort of confirmed my suspicions

[vetran]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ient-care.html

Here's how to save the NHS £12bn... without damaging patient care: ROSS CLARK's forensic blueprint proves there are smarter ways to improve the Health Service than hitting us with a tax hike

• There are almost six million people on the NHS waiting list for routine treatments
• Government's response has been to promise an extra £12 billion a year to service
• Here are a few suggestions of how to raise that £12 billion without hiking taxes

British patients spend significantly longer in hospital for the same operations and procedures compared with other countries, according to a study by the healthcare think-tank the King's Fund in 2015.

It found that patients in Sweden spent 15 per cent less time in hospital, while in Australia it was 18 per cent, in France 20 per cent and in Norway 36 per cent.

Out of 142 NHS trusts, one in six hospitals recorded length of stays 20 per cent above average. Cut these, calculated the King's Fund, and the NHS could treat 18 per cent more acute patients — or alternatively save taxpayers some money.

With a stay in an NHS acute bed costed at £400 a day, reducing the length of time that patients have to spend in hospital by just 10 per cent would save £2 billion a year.

So compare to other countries.

But Lord Carter's 2016 report found that some trusts were spending 2.5 times as much on the same drugs as other trusts.

It was the same story when it came to devices such as hip replacements.

A study of 15 trusts found that the most profligate was spending more than twice as much for artificial hip joints as the most economical.

It wasn't that the bigger spenders were getting a better class of device — and nor was it a matter of economies of scale (some larger trusts were paying more than smaller ones).

Lord Carter put the value of potential savings from procurement at £800 million a year.

[xoggoth]

You expect efficiency from the public sector?

[SueEllen]

I read this the other day -

https://www.countypress.co.uk/news/1...bery-offences/

SENIOR NHS officials 'exploited' the health service by accepting almost £70,000 in bribes to promote prescription drugs to doctors, a court heard.

Medicine boss Paul Jerram and Dr David Turner allegedly acted as 'paid influencers' for pharmaceutical companies by recommending medicines to GPs in exchange for 'secret' payments.

Jurors were told the NHS officials — compared to referees in the 'pocket' of a football team — were paid by businessman Noel Staunton, whose consultancy firm represented pharmaceutical companies.

As a result of their 'corrupt' seven-year scheme on the Isle of Wight, the court heard the 'integrity' of NHS doctors making honest recommendations about prescription drugs was breached and medicines were improperly pushed to GP surgeries and advisory boards.
Health service pharmacist Cathal Daly — also accused of accepting backhanders — is also part of the group now on trial for a string of bribery charges.
At Southampton Crown Court, prosecutor James Hines said: "They used their expertise, their inside knowledge, their influence, and their familiarity with NHS systems to further their own, private interests.

[WTFH]

Could have saved the NHS £37billion by not hiring Dido harding.

Michelle Mone (Tory Peer) & Douglas Barrowman (Various off-shore schemes) were involved in PPEMedpro got over £200m in PPE contracts (although that one wasn't a single-bidder contract)
Fifty million face masks, purchased through Ayanda Capital, a company specialising in currency trading and offshore property, part of a £252m contract, were unusable.
A Miami jewellery designer, awarded a £250m contract for PPE, was found to have paid £21m to a consultant to broker the deal.
A pest control company with net assets of £19 000 was given a £108m contract for PPE
...I could go on, there's about £1bn went to single-bidder contracts, with little to no checks on the supplier suitability, quality or effectiveness.

[vetran]

I read this the other day -

https://www.countypress.co.uk/news/1...bery-offences/

SENIOR NHS officials 'exploited' the health service by accepting almost £70,000 in bribes to promote prescription drugs to doctors, a court heard.

Medicine boss Paul Jerram and Dr David Turner allegedly acted as 'paid influencers' for pharmaceutical companies by recommending medicines to GPs in exchange for 'secret' payments.

Jurors were told the NHS officials — compared to referees in the 'pocket' of a football team — were paid by businessman Noel Staunton, whose consultancy firm represented pharmaceutical companies.

As a result of their 'corrupt' seven-year scheme on the Isle of Wight, the court heard the 'integrity' of NHS doctors making honest recommendations about prescription drugs was breached and medicines were improperly pushed to GP surgeries and advisory boards.
Health service pharmacist Cathal Daly — also accused of accepting backhanders — is also part of the group now on trial for a string of bribery charges.
At Southampton Crown Court, prosecutor James Hines said: "They used their expertise, their inside knowledge, their influence, and their familiarity with NHS systems to further their own, private interests.

I know a few people who worked/work for the NHS and the freebies provided by drug companies to get near doctors are scandalous, they have decreased compared to 20 years ago. This sadly doesn't surprise me but it should be possible to identify it with proper reporting and oversight.

[vetran]

Could have saved the NHS £37billion by not hiring Dido harding.

Michelle Mone (Tory Peer) & Douglas Barrowman (Various off-shore schemes) were involved in PPEMedpro got over £200m in PPE contracts (although that one wasn't a single-bidder contract)
Fifty million face masks, purchased through Ayanda Capital, a company specialising in currency trading and offshore property, part of a £252m contract, were unusable.
A Miami jewellery designer, awarded a £250m contract for PPE, was found to have paid £21m to a consultant to broker the deal.
A pest control company with net assets of £19 000 was given a £108m contract for PPE
...I could go on, there's about £1bn went to single-bidder contracts, with little to no checks on the supplier suitability, quality or effectiveness.

indeed, however that is rather a different conversation about government sleaze during a pandemic (where people should end up in court and damages demanded) than the NHS needing reform. Nice whataboutery though.

[SueEllen]

indeed, however that is rather a different conversation about government sleaze during a pandemic (where people should end up in court and damages demanded) than the NHS needing reform. Nice whataboutery though.

None of it is whataboutery.

It's about how people make money out of the NHS from top to the middle.

All the thieves need to be brought to account.

[WTFH]

indeed, however that is rather a different conversation about government sleaze during a pandemic (where people should end up in court and damages demanded) than the NHS needing reform. Nice whataboutery though.

It's not whataboutery. If we want to see how the NHS can save money, then the above is examples of how money was spent on the NHS's behalf, and if that spending had been done through the NHS it would have cost a lot less and delivered a lot more.
Privatising the NHS does not solve the problem, in fact completely the opposite. It's the result of trying to privatise procurement, bypassing the process to make sure it goes to "the right people" rather than the people who know what they are doing - that's the problem.

[GigiBronz]

None of it is whataboutery.

It's about how people make money out of the NHS from top to the middle.

All the thieves need to be brought to account.

We live in a time when we question every bit of the system that we are part of. The employment, social construct, economical system. Basic human rights.

And at the same time deluding ourselves that privatising the NHS, under the same rules that has brought this society to almost collapse, would definitely solve the issues.

I think the problems are somewhere else, and some hard questions have to be asked. Then implement hard changes to a system that is at the backbone of society.

If we are not careful we live through the implementation of a new totalitarian system ruled by big tech, big pharma and govs.

Privatision is a good idea, but there are other things as well that would be more pressing before that.


How about an economic system that works for people?

[malvolio]

Can I add that the first three things that needs doing are centralising procurement, taking an axe to targets (and the staff collecting the data to report against them) and pay off the PFI deals.

Always remember, the operational side of the NHS is doing a pretty good job with the resources they have. Snag is they only get around 40% of the NHS resources.

As for privatising it - that is a total non-starter.