Post by rmarks1 on Dec 11, 2013 12:45:16 GMT -5
This is from the government's own study:
Let's see. A decline of 1.4% per year over 10 years? A 14% decline in spite of the fact that more money was spent. Notice how they try to explain away the results in the last two sentences.
And then, there is this article. The author certainly cannot be accused of being right-wing.
If this happened in private hospitals, the media would be full of stories about "greedy capitalists" letting people die in order to make higher profits. But this is a government-run health system. Face it folks. Government means politicians, and politicians don't give a damn about us.
Bob Marks
The most authoritative national measure shows a decline in
hospital
productivity
Figures produced by the Office for National Statistics estimate that, since
8
2000, total UK NHS productivity decreased by an average of 0.2 per cent per
year;
however, productivity in hospitals fell by around 1.4 per cent per year.
Over the
last ten years, in line with the NHS Plan, significantly more money has been spent in
hospitals. This increased funding has paid for more, better paid staff, and extra goods
and services. Hospital activity – adjusted to reflect improvements in the quality of care –
has not risen at the same rate as these additional resources, indicating that productivity
has declined. However, the adjustments for quality are challenging and remain at
an early stage of development due largely to the lack of data on health gains. Also,
productivity might initially be expected to fall in periods of rapid input growth as any
resulting increase in output may be slower to achieve.
www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/1011491.pdf
hospital
productivity
Figures produced by the Office for National Statistics estimate that, since
8
2000, total UK NHS productivity decreased by an average of 0.2 per cent per
year;
however, productivity in hospitals fell by around 1.4 per cent per year.
Over the
last ten years, in line with the NHS Plan, significantly more money has been spent in
hospitals. This increased funding has paid for more, better paid staff, and extra goods
and services. Hospital activity – adjusted to reflect improvements in the quality of care –
has not risen at the same rate as these additional resources, indicating that productivity
has declined. However, the adjustments for quality are challenging and remain at
an early stage of development due largely to the lack of data on health gains. Also,
productivity might initially be expected to fall in periods of rapid input growth as any
resulting increase in output may be slower to achieve.
www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/1011491.pdf
Let's see. A decline of 1.4% per year over 10 years? A 14% decline in spite of the fact that more money was spent. Notice how they try to explain away the results in the last two sentences.
And then, there is this article. The author certainly cannot be accused of being right-wing.
But this is all-too common in welfare services. Scandal follows scandal — and yet hardly anyone ever seems to be held to account.
Another example occurred at Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust, where over three years from 2005 between 400 and 1,200 patients died needlessly as managers ruthlessly cut costs — particularly nursing numbers — to meet targets the Labour government laid down to win ‘foundation’ hospital status.
Doctors were diverted from critically-ill patients in order to deal with less serious cases to meet the target of discharging all patients from Accident & Emergency units within four hours of admission.
melaniephillips.com/how-the-welfare-state-undermines-altruism
Another example occurred at Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust, where over three years from 2005 between 400 and 1,200 patients died needlessly as managers ruthlessly cut costs — particularly nursing numbers — to meet targets the Labour government laid down to win ‘foundation’ hospital status.
Doctors were diverted from critically-ill patients in order to deal with less serious cases to meet the target of discharging all patients from Accident & Emergency units within four hours of admission.
melaniephillips.com/how-the-welfare-state-undermines-altruism
If this happened in private hospitals, the media would be full of stories about "greedy capitalists" letting people die in order to make higher profits. But this is a government-run health system. Face it folks. Government means politicians, and politicians don't give a damn about us.
Bob Marks
