GP service, lazy bastards

[scooterscot]

I'm just interested as to whether a radiologist had a role interpreting the scan. I guess we'll never be sure.

No the radiologist was female at the time of the scan. The scan / imagery was discussed with me by a older chap before I took the CD to my GP the next day.

[Dallas]

I sometimes row with a radiologist; feckless ejit, nearly crashed us several times.

Don't go to Lewisham!

[doodab]

I see your point, but does that really explain having to always wait 2-3 months for an appointment? If it was 2-3 weeks, they wouldn't necessarily need any more slack in the system as it's not likely the number of people wanting to see a particular specialist, or needing a particular scan is likely to suddenly fall. They can probably guarantee a steady flow of certain types of patients, and if they were a little more organised many patients would have no trouble with appointments being reorganised at short notice.

In my case I first saw a specialist 6 months ago, had to wait for a test, saw a different specialist, now have a scan next week, and another appointment for one or other specialist for the end of May. Now even optimistically assuming they then decide what's wrong with me and give me some treatment and I'm cured, that'll still be 9 months of my life where I've been ill and/or missing work (I haven't really; it's not that bad). And that's a pretty big social cost, not to mention that most illnesses would probably deteriorate in that time and require more (expensive) treatment as a result. I see no good reason why I couldn't go through the process in a month.

The trouble with running at close to full capacity is that once you have a backlog it's very hard to clear it as there is no capacity to do so and if anything goes wrong (staff illness, broken machine) the backlog grows never to be reduced. With the growing patient numbers and everything else I don't really see the situation improving.

You could also argue that as you didn't die it wasn't that urgent, so making you wait an age was efficient. That seems a bit cruel, but I'm sure it's how the bean counters think.

[scooterscot]

It's generally the ratio of some output produced to some input consumed i.e. life expectancy vs spend per patient in healthcare, miles traveled per gallon of fuel burned in transport etc. But please feel free to redefine a commonly understood word to fit your addled perception.

I like my expiation better. Path of least resistance for a given result.

It's the nature of the universe as it seeks to attain a higher state of entropy. Except for your posts. That would be a lower state of entropy.

[scooterscot]

The trouble with running at close to full capacity is that once you have a backlog it's very hard to clear it.

In those situations I reach for a drink high in natural fibres.

[scooterscot]

The trouble with running at close to full capacity is that once you have a backlog it's very hard to clear it as there is no capacity to do so and if anything goes wrong (staff illness, broken machine) the backlog grows never to be reduced. With the growing patient numbers and everything else I don't really see the situation improving.

So we should build a third runway?

[vetran]

The trouble with running at close to full capacity is that once you have a backlog it's very hard to clear it as there is no capacity to do so and if anything goes wrong (staff illness, broken machine) the backlog grows never to be reduced. With the growing patient numbers and everything else I don't really see the situation improving.

You could also argue that as you didn't die it wasn't that urgent, so making you wait an age was efficient. That seems a bit cruel, but I'm sure it's how the bean counters think.

well I suspect there is plenty of slack with the machines, I have never been invited in the evenings or weekends. Staffing costs I suspect are actually a very small part of the overall.

If you look at these things you normally find the people who actually do the work spend all their time working round the system to get things to be done.

[Old Greg]

No the radiologist was female at the time of the scan. The scan / imagery was discussed with me by a older chap before I took the CD to my GP the next day.

OK. Sounds like the woman was the radiographer.

The CD is pretty outdated. The English PACS system is about the only good thing to come out of the NHS NPFIT.

[doodab]

Well I'm just saying there's other countries here in Europe that don't write letters for a x-ray or MRI. The less there is in the system the more efficient it shall become.

We're masters in bureaucracy.

More effective it may be, but your argument that it's more efficient means nothing without considering what it costs relative to what the equivalent NHS procedure costs.

According to the OECD the UK has a longer life expectancy than Germany both overall and for men, but lower for women, and Germany spends more per patient per year and more as a %age of GDP to boot.

You have a funny idea of what efficient means.

[doodab]

I like my expiation better. Path of least resistance for a given result.

Expiation (n)
the act of making amends or reparation for guilt or wrongdoing; atonement.