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GP practices, patient care - profit ?

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Edited by Hede Maria Cavell, Saturday, 14 Aug 2021, 04:35

Back in the late 80's l had the privilege to work as receptionist in a single practice surgery. There was no fancy aesthetics just the waiting and  room  and the GP's room. Patient care was  forefront and the most crucial part of the surgery. The core value ,patients had a voice and were respected and listened to.  

Sadly these surgery's and  partnerships are  virtually are non- existent  being replaced by tendered  private sector  medical groups and organisations which have been awarded contracts from the  NHS . 

 Does the  NHS logo  provide us with a false sense of security?  Do we automatically presume the core value of patients welfare is uppermost  in the mind and that the NHS is  there as a public service for our benefit and not for  profit ?

It  appears to me that the big  private  cooperation's are swallowing up GP practices by giving  the illusion of state of the art equipment,( which mainly cannot be used due to lack of funding!) and  state of the art buildings,  that will benefit the patients and Dr's immensely ! Once they have sold you the dream of what they can do for you, the NHS  signs the contract then  becomes  beholden to their budgets and profit margins and patient well-being is insignificant due to the high pressure of accumulating returns for the companies .

Excuses that are used frequently ,'We have an elderly population and not enough Dr's'.  Why?  It appears to me that Dr's, due to the high  workload and  targets no longer wish to become GP's . The old ethos  and core values  to humanity  has been striped away  to the 'conveyer belt of one in one out and time is money attitude !'   within local surgeries.  

 How much are we really aware when it comes to our GP services ? 

How many of us have a choice of surgery within our area that is not owned by the same group or company or organisation ?

Do we really understand the impact of these contracts when it comes to rights, penalties and clauses ? How many contracts are awarded to private  medical groups and organisations when it comes to Dr's surgeries?  Is it exclusive to one  certain group or organisation in one region or area ?  If so the population can be held to ransom at the whim of a profit making organisation with exclusive rights to one area. Where is the choice for the public and where is the care ? With no other competition these groups  can become complacent and the therefore their is no need for patient core values but profit only.

As with all things these days it is down to money, however by employing private sector companies that have and rightly so,  need to make a profit for  their own shareholders are we neglecting the right of the public to be able to  access proper health care  and what l would call a, 'core fundamental'  the right to choose a surgery of our choice in our local area instead of having no choice. 

Patients vulnerability in my opinion, is being exploited  yet again by being let down by  governments   who  wish to alleviate the responsibility of a public service onto companies by outsourcing  services for the 'right'  price and state of the art tech and not the patients well-being. How many times do we now here of patients not being able to contact the surgery, being turned away and told that there is nothing wrong with them only to be told at a later date that their diagnosis  was wrong or is now  terminal ? 

Have we sold out to the big medical groups and organisations which have  exclusive rights to regions and areas ?   Have we neglected to see  how this public  service is being monopolized by some at the expense of the public and the core concepts on which the NHS was founded ?   

Health in Wales | NHS Wales Shared Services 

PartnershipGP surgeries and the private sector - Early Day Motions - UK Parliament

NHS Tenders & Frameworks - A complete guide to Winning NHS Contracts (healthcare-tenders.co.uk 



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Hi Hede

(I noticed one of your links applies to Wales, so I thought I'd start by saying that, England & Wales, have the most similar legal system, within those [great] nations of the UK).

My response will be succinct, and entirely my view;

The UK has slipped too far 'to the right', generally.

There seems to be less than ideal control/management of costs, paradoxically, in both central and local government. Much of this (for instance - large scale civil engineering projects - an area of some expertise of mine, if I have one) is evident, from the effects of some modern forms of contract.

Part of the difficulty is in cultural evolution, the internet and social media age. This diffuses, to an extent, personal accountability.

The NHS as a concept, along with the BBC and The Open University, are three of the best UK founded institutions.

Best wishes,

Jeremy

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Thank you Jeremy for you comments.

It is gratefully appreciated.

I feel fortunate that l am able to write this blog to assist with my understanding of how l view society and how others also view it .

I wish to agree with you regarding the concepts we have of the NHS, Open University and the BBC . My view  is, the NHS, can  be beholden to  those  who have come from a  a background outside the health sector and have dealt with only commodities . This gives  them advantage and knowledge of how to cut and make profits from a stand point where items fit neatly into boxes but when it comes to humans beings  we just cant  all squeeze  into those boxes and thus the issues arise.