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Thread: NHS Service in Caithness

  1. #181
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    Some of the best doctors and nurses I have known have been partly trained in Caithness, some of them made the choice to return until their position was untennable.
    Making tomorrow`s memories today

  2. #182
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    What about unseen circumstances due to weather ...Winter 2009/10 is in my mind ....was going to have to go to Inverness to have my youngest due to preg complications. but had him in Wick as there was no time for the air ambulance to be arranged(he was born in 20 mins from outset of labour).....no road ambulances running due to the road conditions ...what if a RTA happened in those conditions? slice n dice n sewn up so patched up enough to travel to Inverness and the transport cannot safely do the trip due to weather conditions ...huge farming community up here and accidents are thankfully rare but when they happen they are at the more serious end of the scale ...crush injuries etc or bog standard re attachement of fingers etc(complicated surgery to get full movement) with complications of dirty farm equipment to deal with....never within "office hours" as no one works 9-5 these days .
    Then there is Dounreay and contam issues if something goes really wrong ...unlikely but could happen and if it did it would prob be in silent hours so less staff involved ...big probs for CGH and an injured person would overload them.
    Life is too short to spend it in beige underwear!

  3. #183

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    So the director of surgery now says we dont need 24hr surgical cover........why then over the last umpteen years have NHS Highland been wasting such valuable resources by employing surgeons to cover twenty four hours eh ? Why have NHS Highland only NOW starting announcing this ? Why do we as an area feel we are being treated like mushrooms....kept in the dark and fed nothing but sh&t ??

    You can roll out as many senior Inverness based monkeys as you want until the organ grinder starts addressing the issues prior to the proverbial hitting the fan then some folk might start to have a little more faith in NHS Highland management....

    Oh by the way have you ever released yet how intensive the recruitment campaign for CGH truly was I have a good few years BMJs in front of me and there doesnt seem to be much for Caithness in them. Hmmm must have invested all your money on the bus signs in Liverpool yes really good one doctors down there being inticed to an area where the boss says wee don't really need you 24/7......nuff said

  4. #184
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    From what I am seeing reported in the press and other media sources those in charge of NHS Highland need lessons in basic skills for running things. We are being given excuse followed by more excuses and policies that are costly and inefficient.
    I am beginning to think that all NHS executives should be given a basic grounding in economics, customer care and honesty and that those who can't step up to the task should be dismissed with no pay offs, for too long there has been the ethos that as an essential service there will always be money to bail it out.

  5. #185

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    well just the other month there wee had to take my boy down he is just 7 months old, wee got down there fine but on the way back it was -5 just after helmsdale wee were going down hill i was doing about 30 down the hill, well wee hit black ice i lost control of the car by the time i got control back i was doing 60 and just made it round the corner dont know how but i did just before hitting the barrier, when it comes down to it me my wife and my boy about died in a car crash for a 5 min appointment, would it not more sense to send a kids doctor up for a few days every month to do consultations, it will save money to because i claimed £40 and there was a few others for up here doing the same it all adds up

  6. #186

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    Lizz and Kosacid I recommend both your posts. In their own different ways they highlight so much of what is wrong with our NHS service in the North. The sad truth is that if your posts were to be read by any NHS Executive they wouldn't see or understand the problems you are highlighting.

    Kosacid I am so pleased that you and your family got home safely.

  7. #187

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    Article in the North Star this week about Gary Coutts, Elaine Mead and Nick Kenton (NHS Highland) being called to a meeting in Holyrood to explain a few things. I believe they are not very happy bunnies.

  8. #188

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    It will be interesting to see if they tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth........Its wrong all the answers should have been there first time round. Caithness General is an excellent hospital with excellent staff they must be under terrible stress at present with this ongoing situation.

  9. #189
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    Thank you janeyj for your comments.
    For the last few years I have been requesting costing from NHS Highland, they have managed to supply some of the figures I wanted but even applying to Holyrood under The Freedom of Information Act ,I have failed to get others as they are not recorded or broken down by region.
    I see every day the plight of this essential service and yet am unable to get accurate figures. I did note however that there is now a move to stop the use of locums and possibly an increase in increments to try and persuade medical staff that living in The Highlands is worth their while. I have never however seen any adverts that actively promote the area, it's lack of crime, inexpensive housing,stunning countryside and wild life that contribute to a much higher standard of living than is enjoyed through most of this island nation.

  10. #190
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    Excellent hospital and excellent staff does not excuse the higher management for the downgrading of facilities again.
    All it takes is 1 big accident involving 2 people out of hours that need emergency life threatening care and Wick will be over stretched ...
    As for stress ...it is handed over by the powers to be due to staff shortages and we will cope mentality which isn't healthy.
    We need a hospital that can preserve life in life threatening circumstances to national standards or beyond, out of hours as well as the 9-5 care.
    The nurses still care...the docs still care ...the service is cut back too much to care.
    Life is too short to spend it in beige underwear!

  11. #191
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    Fully agree Dadie.
    Making tomorrow`s memories today

  12. #192
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    Can anyone tell me who is responsible for all this downgrading? If it's the Scottish government, I certainly won't be voting SNP!
    Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

  13. #193
    BetterTogether is offline Banned (Sock Puppet of previously banned user)
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    The SNP have devolved powers for the NHS in Scotland.

    It is reported they have withheld over £400 million in funding from Scotland NHS in the past year.

    Also it is reported that increases in spending have been only 1.7% compared to 4.5% in England.

    No doubt their supporters will find a thousand excuses to blame Westminster for Scottish NHS promises but the day to day running and funding is purely down to the SNP and has been since they've held power in Scotland for the last seven years.

  14. #194
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    Quote Originally Posted by BetterTogether View Post
    The SNP have devolved powers for the NHS in Scotland.

    It is reported they have withheld over £400 million in funding from Scotland NHS in the past year.

    Also it is reported that increases in spending have been only 1.7% compared to 4.5% in England.

    No doubt their supporters will find a thousand excuses to blame Westminster for Scottish NHS promises but the day to day running and funding is purely down to the SNP and has been since they've held power in Scotland for the last seven years.
    Not that you're a little bit anti-SNP or anything!

    "It is reported" "also it is reported" - aye, by whom?

    Behave.

  15. #195
    BetterTogether is offline Banned (Sock Puppet of previously banned user)
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    Quote Originally Posted by PantsMAN View Post
    Not that you're a little bit anti-SNP or anything!"It is reported" "also it is reported" - aye, by whom?Behave.
    Most reputable media outlets have the figures available.

    Not anti SNP just not taken in by anything they say as being any more gospel than any other party.

    I think my better half put into context when she said she's getting a bit sick of the SNP dominating the general election programming and media at the moment.

    It is supposed to be a General Election for the whole UK, I fully accept that the SNP have a voice in Scotland and speak for their 100,000 or so members and may well get a good amount of seats, but the sad reality is the population of Scotland isn't even as large as that of London buts it's dominating the whole election campaign for the whole UK.

    I watched Evan Davies interview with Nicola Sturgeon and she was not better at giving straight answers than any other party leader even when it came down to matters which don't affect Scotland she was very circumspect in not giving a straight answer, it basically boiled down to if there's any remote possibility it might effect Scotland they will vote on it.

    It all seems very shabby no better than any other leader but whichever way the cookie crumbles on Election Day she will only have around 2 to 2.5 million votes that's if the pundits are correct. The population of the UK is around 65 million whichever way it falls if the SNP wade in blocking policies and rocking the boat it won't sit well with the majority of the electorate.
    Last edited by BetterTogether; 28-Apr-15 at 21:59.

  16. #196

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    The SNP or any other party can spend as much money as they want on NHS Highland. If ts badly run then, its badly run. Surely ?

  17. #197
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    Absolutely.

    Like any good engine if it is not fed with quality fuel and well maintained it will not run properly.

    Too many chiefs and not enough indians, as I have said from the start.

    One Matron used to run whole hospitals it now takes two corridors of office wallahs to run.
    Making tomorrow`s memories today

  18. #198

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    Quote Originally Posted by katarina View Post
    Can anyone tell me who is responsible for all this downgrading? If it's the Scottish government, I certainly won't be voting SNP!
    The hospital isnt being downgraded.....its a redesign project !!

    Its NHS Highland management who are responsible for this circus NOT SNP government.

  19. #199
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    Most recent development is that cataract daycare surgery is not happening in Wick for some time as two lynchpin staff are both on maternity leave and there is no locum cover due to general shortage of opthalmologists.

    Waiting times are almost double national average of 7-9 weeks, Raigmore can not cope with extra operations so patients longest/most urgent/make complaint are being offered consultation at Golden Jubilee at Clydebank. As a result their waiting time average from diagnosis to consultation of 4 - 6 weeks is stretching to 6 - 8 weeks and by the end of the month it will be 10 weeks.

    The good thing about going to Clydebank is that 4 star accommodation is provided free of charge for up to three nights (and longer if clinically required for the patients wellbeing)

    We were there this week and had no complaints about the hospital or the hotel. We did eat in the hospital canteen as times were more convenient for clinic appointments. Food was of hotel quality, nicely presented and piping hot.

    Thanks to a forward thinking lady in Finance office in Inverness they even have a supply of the new style refund form for travel expenses.

    Whilst it is good to know hubby`s surgeries will go ahead and he is in good hands, it would have been far more convenient for the operations to have been done in Wick.
    Making tomorrow`s memories today

  20. #200
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    Will the last one out please switch out the lights http://www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk/N...Hospital1.aspx
    Just when you think everythings fine, life slaps you in the face.

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