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Government Management of the NHS

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Poll Question: Has the Government done a good job with the NHS?
Poll Choice Votes Poll Statistics
855 [39.08%]
500 [22.85%]
347 [15.86%]
274 [12.52%]
212 [9.69%]
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Nigel (Webmaster) View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Nigel (Webmaster) Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Government Management of the NHS
    Posted: 08 Dec 2007 at 13:46

There seems to be a strong feeling against the current Government's handling of the NHS. But I guess the question is would any Party or Government do things in a significantly different way when financial constraint seems to be the underlying pattern.

 
What would you like to see the Government doing for the NHS - apart from making yet another double announcement on the number of Nurses Midwives, police soldiers.......
Confused
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reader2uk View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote reader2uk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Dec 2007 at 23:30
I remember being in the nursing profession back in 1992 when we had the boasts about 'come the Labour government everything will change, we will all have well maintained hospitals, good wages where we are paid what we deserve, we will all be treated as professional nurses (remember this was the age of project 2000).
 
What has happened we are treated as second rate pen pushers in poorly maintained hospitals having to fight for every wage rise and being underpaid for a career we have spent years qualifying for and working our way through the grades .
 
Was it all worth it - was it hell - come the revolution?  the situation is worse now in my opinion
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Alyson View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Alyson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Dec 2007 at 17:05
Perhaps we should do a Monty Python type question here. "What have the Labour Party ever done for the NHS? 
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sam81 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote sam81 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Jan 2008 at 11:53
I think there are a lot of things to think about, and the situation far more complex then I could ever comment on properly in a forum post.
 
Of course there are things that have changed, some for the better, some not. And I have only been qualified since 2000. Overall I do have to say I think that the labour leadership we have had over the last 10 years has provided more change then the conservative government before.
 
But its just one opinion and I dont want to start any arguments as I know a lot of people won't necessarily agree with me!!
 
But in terms of wages, things are a lot better for newly qualified staff, when I qualified (2000) the starting wage was around £14,000 per year. Over the last 3 years it has risen substantially - now its over £18,000. This is more in line with teaching and the police force starting wages, which has to be a good move. However I think it was a real shame that for more experienced staff we havent seen such improvements salary wise.
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Alyson View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Alyson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Jan 2008 at 12:33
Hi Sam81,
 
Wouldn't you agree that the Government has a habit of creating short term fixes without an eye on the future?
 
Look at recruitment and skill mix.
In recent years the Government brought in lots of foreign nurses and at the same time had a recruitment drive so there was an increase in student nurse numbers (lets not talk about the drop out rate here).
 
They then decided that they couldn't afford their own policies - please don't blame the NHS for overspending because they were busy trying to re-organsie (three times during this Governments office) and meet targets that meant that unhighlighted unsexy treatments were sidelined. Of course don't forget the fiasco that is choose and book and centralised patient records - ('ere want to buy some private information on millions of UK citizens?)
 
So they forced the NHS to shut loads of beds to meet harsh targets that if they had managed the investment better would have not arisen or been more manageable.
 
So we kicked the foreign nurses who helped us out in a crisis out of the country en mass and are now in a situation where students who qualify struggle to find work.
 
Because of deskilling the level of senior staff paid at the right grade with the right experience has been cut therefore reducing the cost base but also effectively reducing salaries even further.
 
(Pauses for breath and vacates soap box!) Angry
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coomich View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote coomich Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jan 2008 at 14:55

All political parties have all done great damage to the NHS. They use it as a pawn for their political advantage and are incapable of consultative progress. Each blames the other for it's failings. Our management is just as bad for going allong with their policies with all of us looking at our own little corners with blinkered eyes. Communication across the caring proffesions is almost none existant with much waist of money and poor care as a result.

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Steve Kilroy View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Steve Kilroy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Jan 2008 at 16:43
I completely agree with you, Coomich, and it will always remain this way. Through my time as a nurse, the real wind of change has come from the public, not from government who have always underfunded us through staged low rises.
 
The attitudes and behaviours have shifted in relation to all public servants. We are now faced with a completely different dynamic in dealing with slightly more informed, less reverential and more challenging people.
 
I don't see that as better or worse than the blindly accepting, adoring masses who thought we were all saints who made few mistakes, but it is certainly different and requires a different NHS worker.
 
The advent of forums, websites and open challenge is changing everything.
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JFN Admin View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JFN Admin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Feb 2008 at 15:38

This poll has now been brought into the Poll Forum as we now have a new poll on the main JFN site. You are still able to continue to vote and add your opinions.

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Edited by JFN Admin - 27 Feb 2008 at 15:56
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