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NHS trust ads

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
just thought i let you all know that because of the governments 'choose and book' scheme (you get to chose which hospital you go, fair enough) but funding will now be allocated depending how many people use each trust.
so trusts are now allowed to advertise for patients,
so instead of taxes being used for hosptials its going to used for ads!
wtf! outrage! were are not in the US!

(PS really tired probably not a coherent arguement)

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    This is the patients passport, except Labour have changed the name because when the Tories suggested this very idea Labour said it would be the death of the NHS.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think advertising for patients should be outright banned.

    None of the hospitals round me advertise, I used choose and book and chose the soonest appointment with a suitable consultant, which was 3 months sooner than my nearest hospital would have seen me.

    That's what choose and book should be for, not for funding competition.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    INone of the hospitals round me advertise, I used choose and book and chose the soonest appointment with a suitable consultant, which was 3 months sooner than my nearest hospital would have seen me.

    That's what choose and book should be for, not for funding competition.

    How did you find out that the appointment was sooner?

    What if you wanted the hospital with the cheapest parking/biggest car park/best outcomes?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    budda wrote:
    This is the patients passport, except Labour have changed the name because when the Tories suggested this very idea Labour said it would be the death of the NHS.

    Not so. The patient passport meant that those wanting private treatment could be subsididsed by the NHS. That isn't the case with C&B.

    As for advertising, I haven't read the actual detail yet but hospitals already have this information on the C&B IT system.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I found out because C&B showed my GP the appointments that were avaliable to book, and we picked the soonest one with a suitable specialist.

    As far as I know all the information you could want is out there, I don't see why NHS trusts should waste yet more money on advertising. By advertising I'm thinking posters etc, rather than the standard information that should be avaliable anyway.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Not about advertising but in some ways a bit of healthy competition is good as it tends to improve standards all over (at least in the none nhs setting it does so I don't see why the nhs would be any different).
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It'll be interesting to see the 'type' of patient they'll advertise for.
    As far as I know all the information you could want is out there, I don't see why NHS trusts should waste yet more money on advertising.

    Not to mention if those services are going to be available given the nature of resources being cut.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I found out because C&B showed my GP the appointments that were avaliable to book, and we picked the soonest one with a suitable specialist.

    That was part of their marketing position, they choose which appoitments to make available on C&B
    As far as I know all the information you could want is out there

    It is, do you know where to find it? If not, don't you think that it would be a good idea to have it in one lpace?

    This doesn't have to cost the NHS anything, there are ways of producing documents for local houses etc. Put it this way, I doubt that you will be seeing TV ads anytime soon.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    go_away wrote:
    It'll be interesting to see the 'type' of patient they'll advertise for.

    :yes:

    Cherry picking.

    It won't be hip operations, more likely cataracts and other day case work
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    That was part of their marketing position, they choose which appoitments to make available on C&B



    It is, do you know where to find it? If not, don't you think that it would be a good idea to have it in one lpace?

    This doesn't have to cost the NHS anything, there are ways of producing documents for local houses etc. Put it this way, I doubt that you will be seeing TV ads anytime soon.

    They may chose which appointments to have avaliable on C&B, but that's what I'm interested in. That doesn't come under 'NHS trust ads' to my mind, but under provision of information. I have no problem with provision of good information, but advertising is another matter.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    whatever happened going to the hospitals that within good range that specialises in what you need done, i dont choose to get ill/injured i jst want it done with as little fuss as possible so this annoys me
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    That doesn't come under 'NHS trust ads' to my mind, but under provision of information. I have no problem with provision of good information, but advertising is another matter.

    What's the difference?

    Thing is, ultimately, it will only apply to those hospitals where there is local competition, or where they offer specilaist services. If they don't treat patients then they won't get any income.

    I think that the words "advertising" bring into play images which aren't going to be the case. I can't see many hospitals making too much effort.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I would call advertising putting up posters etc. The other stuff would come under marketing in my book, but maybe that's just me.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    they are planning newspaper ads, advertising to GPs to send patients to their hospitals, dangerous?
    its a waste of money and hospitals will end up specialising meaning that you may have to travel long distances eg through C&B they offered me a hospital in chorley! (i live in Cumbria) and the hospitals that specialise in day treatment (easier small operations) will get more money even though their treatments are cheaper, its highly floored!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    they are planning newspaper ads, advertising to GPs to send patients to their hospitals, dangerous?

    Newspapers - hardly gonna see the tabloids jam packed though are we. What they will do is push local rags to do more "good news" stories about them. Nothing changes, that is already done.

    As for advertising to GPs, don't you think that is a good idea? Don't you want the GP to know what options are out there for you?
    its a waste of money and hospitals will end up specialising meaning that you may have to travel long distances

    1. The two aren't linked.
    2. Specialisation is already happeneing, is always going to happen and should happen. Do you want a local service, or one which knows what it is doing?
    eg through C&B they offered me a hospital in chorley! (i live in Cumbria)

    Look at my log in - I've just taken a patient from Wales because he has family here. Until C&B (and the funding changes) that was very difficult to do. What if your family lived in Chorley and you wanted to go there to recuperate?
    and the hospitals that specialise in day treatment (easier small operations) will get more money even though their treatments are cheaper, its highly floored!

    This is where things get interesting because PCTs are looking at investing to prevent as many of this type of admission as possible - more community care etc...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    But can we really have this competition when the private providers brought in by the NHS are paid in advance and not paid per operation?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    budda wrote:
    But can we really have this competition when the private providers brought in by the NHS are paid in advance and not paid per operation?

    In the main though they are paid per operation/diagnostic. Funnily enough many IS providers would argue that their operating costs are higher and, at the moment, they are still able to charg slightly above NHS rates for many procedures something which is due to change in the next year or so.

    There are contracts referred to as "cost and volume" where the IS is "guaranteed" an minimum income - which is what I think you are referring to - it's then up to us planners to make sure that we only commit to something which we expect to happen and that our demand on them is higher than we originally contracted for and not lower.

    The threat to NHS providers comes from the creaming off of the high volume/low cost operations like cataracts. Reality is though that the national tariff price will drop for those but increase for other areas where the NHS providers currently lose moeny. It's technical I know but the more providers there are, the cheaper those operations will become because their "reference costs" (i.e. the cost of provision to them) will drop and therefore the NHS will pay less...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i have nothing to say other than nobody in their right mind would choose a staffordshire nhs trust :grump:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Best one round us is whichever on it is that covers Aldershot, Frimley, Camberly and Sandhurst. Has loads of military staff on top of the civillian staff and is often run with military discipline and efficiency.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Frimley Park?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    My current favourite hang out! Beats the pants of St Peters and Royal Surrey (its neighbouring hospitals) anyday.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It would be unprofessional of me to comment ;)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hey I've seen a cleaner cleaning :eek: in Frimley Park, and they even get your name and problem right:eek2: , and talk to the patient not their parent. :chin: Let me think about which one I'll be going to in the future (and it's the furthest away).
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