The October data shows that the proportion of cancer patients who waited less than two months for their first treatment after an urgent referral was 58.2%, well below the target of 85%. The figures show that 65.8% of patients with symptoms of possible breast cancer were treated within two months after referral.
That’s shit. Really, horribly terrible.
The NHS is very equitable in its financing. Very equitable in its delivery. And shite in its delivery. Only even the target for an emergency cancer referral is two months? A target that’s not even met?
Ghastly, horrendous, shite.
The NHS long ago gave up providing healthcare. It’s become a political organisation run by bureaucrats who are experts at building empires and sinecures. Patients merely irritate them and interfering politicians are to be fought tooth and nail.
Its not just the NHS, its just the most publicly exposed part of the entire rotten public sector. Since covid all Government employees have decided that work is optional, to be done if they feel like it. Try dealing with any UK government body these days, you might as well attempt to wade through a Mississippi delta of treacle.
Good story here about how dissent and criticism of the NHS is suppressed:
Spoiler: Fortunately Andrew Neil has a reputation for telling anyone who wants to interfere in editorial policy to fuck off, so Karol got to say his piece.
The other story:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiewareham/2020/09/04/co-op-no-plans-to-stop-advertising-in-spectator-amid-hostile-transgender-coverage/?sh=1e0de54b79a1
And that’s assuming our wonderful NHS funded and arranged general practicioners don’t prevent you from getting a timely cancer diagnosis.
Which they frequently do, due to incompetence or inability to structure their affairs in such a way that benefits patients.
Britain’s relationship with the NHS is based on Stockholm Syndrome. You’re fucked around so much it makes you pathetically grateful when you finally do get some medical care.
Because of its size, the NHS’s bulk purchases of generic drugs are highly efficient. On every other efficiency indicator, the NHS is a laggard.
“..the entire rotten public sector. Since covid all Government employees have decided that work is optional, to be done if they feel like it.”
The Land Registry is my current pet hate….Incredibly inefficient!
“The Land Registry is my current pet hate….Incredibly inefficient!”
They were in the forefront of my mind too, my father died over 2 and half years ago, and the estate is still not finalised, due to LR incompetence.
For comparison, a US author who I follow on social media announced she had breast cancer in mid July. She saw an oncologist three days after finding a lump, biopsy the same day, tumour gene sequenced so they could work out the best treatment a day later, started 20 weeks of chemotherapy 10 days after finding the lump. Surgery afterwards and got the all clear just in time for the new year.
Councidentally, i read that Soeccie story just a couple of hours ago and came on here to comment, BiND says all I wanted to.
My clinical experience of the NHS has been generally negative. Medical incompetence seems to be baked in, along with the inability to speak English.
One thing that does work well, is the Xray and Scan service which suffers from a lack of radiographers, but is now quick and the results are instantaneous.
HMLR – I wrote off to them with a cheque for £7 for a document. They wrote back quickly enough, to say that they don’t have it scanned in and can’t be arsed to look for it.
I’ve met Prof Sikora, because he volunteers at our local heritage railway – a modest and unassuming man. We share opinions on the best caff and best Italian in London, so he’s definitely a top bloke. 🙂
BiND
Karol Sikora was one of those, on you-tube in early/mid March 2020, that brought home to me – crystal clear – that it was simply one massive over-reaction by increasing numbers of *other* countries. And then we went full f#cking spaz and copied them all….
PF,
Agreed. I was following him on Twitter. He was one of the few people providing any hope in a seat of doom and gloom brought to us by the BBC and the rest of the MSM. As soon as they went after him it was fairly obvious he was on to something.
Sikora is entirely willing to speak nonsense about things he’s not expert in, especially if paid for it. Notably when he got al-Megrahi let out of jail by asserting that he was unlikely to live more than 3 months – in practice he survived for 33 months, consistent with the assessment of actual experts.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/01/02/gp-surgeries-could-be-earning-almost-1-billion-from-ghost-p/
Population of England 57m
Patients registered with GPs in England 63m
“Notably when he got al-Megrahi let out of jail by asserting that he was unlikely to live more than 3 months – in practice he survived for 33 months, consistent with the assessment of actual experts.”
One has to wonder if al-Megrahi had been left to the tender mercies of the NHS he might indeed have only lasted 3 months………
@ John
The answer(s) to the ghost patients conundrum will be all of the following:
1) We don’t actually know how many people are in the country.
2) The GPs are fraudulently claiming for patients they don’t have.
3) The NHS can’t be arsed to look at saving what they will consider to be “small change” – what’s a billion out of £170 billion after all?
The correct response is to remove the flat fee and have people pay for treatment as required. It has the useful added benefit of giving the slack GPs an incentive to actually see their “service users”.