NHS cuts – you're in charge – what services do you get rid of?

Anyone mentioned prisoners getting tattoo removal on the NHS yet? Or the two guys walking round the grounds of the Glasgow Royal Infirmary to stop people smoking?

I don’t think the nation would be worse off if those services were cut.

No free NHS for smokers, morbidly obese or alcoholics.

No NHS for immigrants who haven’t worked in the UK for at least 2 years.

No vanity “healthcare” from the NHS, ie tattoo removal, nose or boob jobs etc.

What about “depression” sufferers ? I would put them in the same category as alcoholics, overweight people with eating disorders, and vain bastards who worry about the shape of their noses. Sort yourselves out and cheer up ffs.

And anyone who chooses to do something that potentially puts them in a position of hurting themselves/getting hurt: sports, crossing the road, picking up heavy objects etc. Of course don’t forget anyone with a hereditary illness that was caused by their irresponsible parents choosing to procreate. 🙄

No free access, you should have to pay something, say £10min. The French health service isn’t free, the state provides basic stuff and citizens have to pay something and most have a private top up to cover what the state doesn’t pay.

I’d stop all new recruits having state pensions.

Some interesting points above – no state health care for smokers or alcoholics – not an equivalent test is it, should we ban smokers and everyone who has a pint ?

Not being able to sue the NHS? Just think where that would end ? Public services already have too much leeway to dodge responsibility

No IVF ? That’s very harsh and a definite vote looser, less UK citizens and more immigration then ?

So finally what about sports injuries ? Should the NHS really pay for us when we go OTB ? Shouldn’t we have insurance for that ?

So finally what about sports injuries ? Should the NHS really pay for us when we go OTB ? Shouldn’t we have insurance for that ?

That works in NZ, I believe – there is a compulsory accident insurance paid for by the government which picks up the tab for any resulting medical treatment.

I’d stop all new recruits having state pensions.

Hasn’t the law just changed to compel all employers to make pension provision for employees?

How about the Locum consultants who are paid quite honestly ‘out of space’ wages who are also partners in private practices. I know some conduct fantastic work, of which I can only dream of but when you see the ‘coin’ some are pulling, alongside their peers and other healthcare professional working extended/out of hours it is disproportional – made even more painful when the situation arises where they consultant/reg ect consistently relies upon the ‘blue-collar’ workers when the pressure is on!

Not everyone, but I can assure you their are jaw dropping wages being paid out, and other areas stretched to DANGEROUS limits – I have evidence to back that up!

@ratherbeintobago, no problem with the state paying 8%-10% into NHS employees pensions which should be defined contribution like everyone else. If staff want the same benefits as they enjoy now they can top up the rest, my guess is that’s another 20%-30%, a defined benefit/final salary index linked pension guaranteed by the state is extraordinary valuable, ie expensive

Not being able to sue the NHS? Just think where that would end ? Public services already have too much leeway to dodge responsibility

I was not saying that the NHS should not be accountable, bad/dangerous practice could have some criminal recourse. What I was meaning was removing the incentive for legal bottom feeders to consider the NHS as some sort of cash cow. Commercial radio is full of adverts encouraging people to make claims against the NHS, the bill was £15bn or so last year and I bet in 90+% of the cases the medical service was doing its best to help the patient.

no problem with the state paying 8%-10% into NHS employees pensions which should be defined contribution like everyone else.

Those on high salaries are already paying 20% for career average (definitely true of GPs, who have to pay employer as well as the larger employee contributions), and the pension scheme was revised in 2005 to make it sustainable & self-funding (allegedly) – IIRC the agreement was that if costs or projected costs rose these would be met by increasing contributions. Of course, we all know there is no pension fund as such, and all public sector pension contributions go straight back to the Treasury.

You also have to remember that the majority of NHS staff are not well paid when compared to the private sector.

Better questions would be why some public servants eg. judges (IIRC) have a non-contributory final salary pension scheme, and why senior NHS staff pension contributions are being disproportionally increased when compared to other public servants on similar pay and similar defined benefit pension schemes, eg. MPs and senior civil servants.

How about the Locum consultants who are paid quite honestly ‘out of space’ wages who are also partners in private practices.

Not sure who you mean. Majority of locum consultants are people who have just finished specialist training and haven’t secured a substantive consultant post; these are on standard pay & T&C’s.

Agency locums cost a fortune, but a huge chunk of this goes to the agencies; while the individual might be on more money than someone directly employed by the Trust, it won’t be that much more. Because of the costs, most Trusts are extremely reluctant to employ agency locums in any case.

So far as I am aware (and I’m not hugely conversant with how PP works) there is no such thing as a partnership in a private practice, as it’s an individual thing. In any case, and this is one of the potential iniquities of the system, I don’t think any of the large private healthcare providers would take on someone who did not or had not held an NHS consultant post.

Get rid of the whole management structure and start again
But keep the actual ground staff and make the experienced staff up as managers
and make everyone accountable for there failings and wasting of monies

But keep the actual ground staff and make the experienced staff up as managers
and make everyone accountable for there failings and wasting of monies

This is a good idea; empowering staff and making them accountable for new services might work well. A period of stability without endless reorganisation would be needed to make it work though, and I can’t see the politicians going for that.

Actually, thinking about it, one of the biggest causes of waste and inefficiency in the health service is the endless politically-driven reorganisation.

Some of the tosh spouted here is very ill-informed. Yes, there is fat to be trimmed as there is in any business. But the vast majority of professionals in the NHS and allied organisations whose staff are on NHS T&Cs work their arses off. Funding is being cut back, despite what the DH and SoS says, we’re currently looking at cuts for the next two years already. A lot of my staff are paid well, so am I. But we carry a lot of responsibility. Most of us have been moved to DH and are now civil servants so performance related pay will apply in future too.

Contracts for goods and support cost a fortune IME, we are tied to everything from stationary, travel, hire cars, printer cartridges. All on central contracts that at point of purchase from a budget cost us, the taxpayer, more than if I used a credit card and bought direct. Apparently it saves money in the long run, I’ve not seen evidence of this and neither have procurement staff I’ve spoken with.

As for pensions, mine has gone up at 2+% pa at the same time as wages have been frozen (cut). At the moment I pay c£600 pcm into my scheme and work slightly more. I could move to Civil Service T&C at some point in the future. The equivalent scheme for me at the moment would see my contributions drop my three quarters and work go up by 100%. It’s not all public sector staff with pensions that have a gold-plated deal. My contributions will be nearer £750 a month next April and then in April 2015 most of us move to a new public sector pension. I have no problem paying my way, but much of the increase is to support those on the lower pay grades. Also I’ve yet to meet a friend in another sector who’d pay the same contributions willingly pcm.

My personal view is that the NHS and most of the public sector is being dismantled by the current government. It should be protected and resources targeted better.

Skimming through this thread is depressing. Essentially call me Dave and Co seem to have won the “debate”.

So many seem to have accepted their terms without question.
Cost is unquestioningly put before the wider value of the NHS even in the minds of its potential patients.

The STW majority (as a reflection of wider society?) seems awfully keen on pointing out who the “undeserving” in are… Mostly fat people it seems, how imaginative.

So yep the bastards must have won because the majority seem to be adopting their ways of thinking…

Which is all well and good, but I doubt all of you lot have the same private resources as those leading us down this road do, to fall back on when you’re refused treatment due to you”lifestyle choices” and I’m sure none of you lot could possibly become overweight…

I think we should cut childrens heart surgery units
actually no we shouldnt
erm yes we will
ok we wont

I have no problem paying my way, but much of the increase is to support those on the lower pay grades.

Really? I would be very interested in what you mean by ‘support’ and how you arrive at that conclusion.

The Ambulance Service. As no one takes themselves to hospital, there would be no patients in the hospitals!