Sg cabbie & US surgeon
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If it is truly cheaper,
don't complain next time you walk into a healthcare facility ok.
The service of health professionals are good enough (though not good enough for some pain in the asses).
The cost is kept down because the junior doctors are working their butts of in the public hospitals taking care of far more patients than they can handle.
So do the nurses, imagine taking care of every aspect of the patient needs. this can be very taxing esp when you have to handle or sorts of related admin stuff like dealing with problematic relatives and some very **#!ed up drs.
Mind you. The nurse patient ratio here is 1:12 and 1:20 on night shifts ok.
Imagine doing everything for an immobile patient including washing up and turning him every 2 hours plus round the clock surveliance and medication therapy as well as performing various treatments when his condition deteroriates. Imagine this times 20. And the pay sucks.
So you know what job to take on to get a taste of hell.
most forumers here are not targeting at medical staff but stating opinions how we can improve our medical structure and ministry of health.
if you feel are hard doneby, go ask for a pay increment or seek a job in australia or UK. -
I went to Raffles Hospital before for a medical checkup. Very posh, but still, it took 2 hours to do a medical checkup which takes only 30 mins tops (without all the waiting).Originally posted by LazerLordz:NSC.. kiss my ass.. most of my experience there in my NS days are the epitome of inefficiency.
I had so much better service at Raffles. And it was worth every single cent. -
Waiting times? How about waiting 11 months for a hip replacement after your granny fell down the stairs and fractured her femur? Wait a year for knee replacment for arthritis...but it's free what
The waiting time is now shorter but the data shows higher post-op complication and infection rates...but it's free what. Only 30-40% income tax...
"The poll of 1,000 people, by TNS on behalf of Norwich Union Healthcare, showed most expect to wait five months for a hip operation.
Most wait nearer 11 months, independent medical researchers Dr Fosters said.
Patients also had unrealistic expectations for other operations and many said they did not know where to go to find out waiting times.
Waits 'improving'
For knee surgery, the public were prepared to wait for three months and expected to wait for five months.
The actual wait for a knee replacement is a year, data from Dr Foster suggests..."
( http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3749801.stm) -
ah wots new? even tho people have experience to the contary, it's very typical for some people to come n insist their system is better by putting down others.
honestly, like i said, some people are just complacent. whats wrong with acknowledging that singapore's systems have room for improvement?
in any case, so far everything i've asked of the NHS, I've gotten the appointment in not more than 2 months from asking date.
maybe now oxford mushroom is going to suggest that foreigners are treated better? which i doubt.
look at the level of complacency flooding senior medical personal, such as oxford mushroom. what else can we say? uk's newspapers report "majority" mean their system is bad. In Singapore u see so many people complaining about the healthcare system and waiting times and not to mention that there are complications which have happened and were reported in newspapers, and all they can say is that the system is good, just that people are too "unreasonable"
how come the opinions of the people in the british democracy counts for so much while the opinions of the people in the singapore "democracy" counts for so little? -
Get real! The opinion of the vast majority of the British people is that the NHS is crumbling fast despite the injection of huge amounts of cash. Take off your rose-tinted spectacles and see for yourself.Originally posted by HENG@:ah wots new? even tho people have experience to the contary, it's very typical for some people to come n insist their system is better by putting down others.
honestly, like i said, some people are just complacent. whats wrong with acknowledging that singapore's systems have room for improvement?
in any case, so far everything i've asked of the NHS, I've gotten the appointment in not more than 2 months from asking date.
maybe now oxford mushroom is going to suggest that foreigners are treated better? which i doubt.
look at the level of complacency flooding senior medical personal, such as oxford mushroom. what else can we say? uk's newspapers report "majority" mean their system is bad. In Singapore u see so many people complaining about the healthcare system and waiting times and not to mention that there are complications which have happened and were reported in newspapers, and all they can say is that the system is good, just that people are too "unreasonable"
how come the opinions of the people in the british democracy counts for so much while the opinions of the people in the singapore "democracy" counts for so little? -
Hospital job cuts that will run into more than 9,000 have been announced in recent weeks as the NHS struggles to balance the books.
Here is a timeline of the announcements:
26 July
City Hospitals Sunderland Foundation Trust announces it is to cut about 500 jobs.
21 July
Pennine Acute Trust which runs four hospitals in Greater Manchester announces 325 job cuts.
14 July
Norfolk and Waveney Mental Health Trust to cut up to 40 jobs to deal with a £5m funding shortfall.
7 July
North Devon Hospital, Barnstaple to cut 60 staff, including about 30 nurses.
30 June
Royal Bolton Hospital to cut about 130 jobs to save up to £8m a year. No compulsory redundancies expected.
28 June
Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust to cut around 100 jobs to tackle a £27m deficit.
East and North Herts NHS Trust to cut up to 500 job cuts at hospitals in Hertfordshire in order to help make £18m of savings.
27 June
United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust axes nearly 320 jobs, including 100 among agency staff, to tackle a £15m overspend.
9 June
Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust to cut around 1,100 positions to save £18m over the next two years. Redundancies not ruled out.
31 May
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust to cut 300 jobs to tackle a deficit of more than £16m. No impact on permanent staff, as cuts would fall on bank and agency staff.
25 May
Oxford Radcliffe NHS Trust to cut 600 staff posts to help make £33m in savings.
22 May
Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn, Norfolk, to cut 145 posts to reduce its £11 million deficit. In addition, another 70 posts that currently stand vacant will not be filled.
19 May
St George's Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs St Georg's Hospital, Tooting, south London to cut up to 150 jobs. Trust has been told by government to make an additional £10m of savings, on top £19m in savings already planned for 2006-7.
12 May
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to cut about 430 posts as part of a cost cutting plan aimed at saving £84m in the next three years.
10 May
Gloucestershire Health NHS Community Trust announces the closure of a string of community hospitals with the possible loss of up to 500 jobs to help tackle a £38m deficit.
5 May
Pennine Acute Trust , which runs four Greater Manchester hospitals, says it might axe up to 800 posts as it struggles to cope with a deficit of £21m.
27 April
Kennet and North Wiltshire Primary Care Trust and the West Wiltshire Trust announce plan which could see the loss of more than 80 management and administration posts.
26 April
Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital warns up to 450 jobs could be scrapped as part of plans to reduce a £14.8m budget deficit.
Weston General Hospital in Weston-super-Mare to cut 60 jobs after the trust overspent by £6m.
24 April
East Sussex NHS Hospitals Trust, which runs the Conquest Hospital in Hastings and Eastbourne District General, says up to 250 jobs could be axed in a bid to tackle a £5m deficit.
13 April
Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust to shed up to 800 jobs at its three Birmingham and Black Country sites. The trust, which runs City, Sandwell and Rowley Regis hospitals, has a deficit of £6m, but said it plans to save £20m in the next year.
11 April
West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust said up to 500 jobs would have to go in the next 12 to 18 months to help tackle debts of £28.6m.
The trust said it would cut back on temporary staff - reducing the number of permanent staff affected.
7 April
York Hospital is to cut 200 jobs in a move to save £2.5m. The savings from jobs are part of a wider £7m cost-cutting package.
6 April
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust announces 720 losses. It needs to save £30m.
5 April
Royal United Hospital NHS Trust in Bath announces that 300 jobs are to go.
4 April
Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, which manages Crawley Hospital and East Surrey Hospital, announces 400 jobs cuts as it tries to reduce a £2m a month overspend and a total debt of £41.2m.
3 April
Up to 160 jobs to go at the Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham, Kent, to cut up to 160 jobs to save £11m in 2006-07 and claw back a £1m overspend from last year.
29 March
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust announces plans to cut 325 posts to save £10m.
Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust in Woolwich says up to 100 jobs could go to save £10m.
Mid Staffordshire General Hospitals NHS Trust plans to cut more than 150 jobs, to save £10m next year.
28 March
Gloucestershire Health NHS Community confirms plans to close an 86-bed hospital and says jobs may also go.
27 March
Norwich and Norfolk University Hospital says it will need to make cuts to address a £22m shortfall.
24 March
North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust says 74 jobs including 21 specialist specialist nursing jobs are "at risk".
23 March
East Kent Hospitals Trust gives warning of possible cuts to claw back a £35m deficit.
County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals NHS Trust announces up to 700 posts will be cut over the next three years.
22 March
Queen Mary's, Sidcup, south-east London says it will consult over the loss of 190 jobs.
Royal Free Hospital, north-west London, announces 480 posts and 100 beds cut to save £25m and reduce a £13m deficit.
20 March
Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust announces around 200 job cuts to make savings of £22m.
Shropshire's two main hospitals, the Princess Royal Hospital and Royal Shrewsbury Hospital to cut around 300 jobs.
Health chiefs announce 300 job cuts in Wolverhampton to claw back a £38m deficit.
16 March
University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust, Stoke-on-Trent, to cut up to 1,000 jobs with up to 750 compulsory redundancies.
13 March
Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Trust will lose 185 jobs and plans to shut an operating theatre to save £2m.
10 March
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which has £17.5m debt, says there will be major job losses.
8 March
Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust, which is facing an £8.1m shortfall, announces it is set to cut 300 staff.
Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority says it is expecting an £83m deficit.
1 March
Selby and York Primary Care Trust announces jobs will have to go as part of a plan to tackle debts of £23.7m.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4887170.stm -
Hospital faces axe as debts bite
By Nick Triggle
BBC News health reporter
At the beginning of the year, the government said community hospitals were the future of the NHS.
But crippling deficits are forcing the closure of many such hospitals, say campaigners.
When you enter the Wiltshire town of Westbury, the signs are clear for all to see.
"Save Westbury Hospital - join the fight", they say.
The hospital in question is a community hospital housed a stone's throw from the high street.
Until inpatient beds were stripped away earlier this year, the building had a specialist stroke unit, palliative care beds, district and school nursing teams, health visitors and social workers.
The palliative care and stroke beds have now gone and the rest will follow, under plans being consider by local health bosses in a bid to save money and redesign community care.
But this is happening little over three months since the government unveiled a white paper which demanded more care be carried out in the community, by investing in a new generation of community hospitals and multi-disciplinary care teams.
Long journeys
"The Westbury Hospital was everything the government was saying it wanted," said Erica Watson, part of the hospital campaign group and a health visitor.
Speaking in her campaigning role, she added: "It just does not make sense to close the hospital.
"There is only one GP practice in the town, so local people relied on the hospital for community health services.
"When the white paper came we thought, yes, this will be good for the hospital. But it has not turned out like that.
"It is motivated by saving money, but it will lead to patients suffering by having to travel long journeys for care."
The Westbury Hospital was everything the government was saying it wanted
Erica Watson, local campaigner
The local primary care trusts ran £21m over budget last year and, coupled with £34m of historic debt, the pressure is non to save money.
But it has denied cost-cutting is the only motive.
Carol Clarke, chief executive of Kennet and North Wiltshire and West Wiltshire PCTs, said: "Even if we were in financial balance, we would be making these changes.
"Community services in this part of Wiltshire have not had the investment and development that they should have had, and it is essential that we bring community services here up to date.
"However, it is also true that we are in a tough financial climate, and these changes do deliver some savings.
"The changes proposed, however, strive to strike a balance between the need to modernise and improve our services, and pull back our expenditure. We believe that we can do both."
Savings
And the PCTs are targeting community services despite the fact that they spend much more on major hospitals and GP services.
A fifth of the two PCTs' £347m budget is spent on community services, with £8m a year being spent on the hospital buildings alone.
Government guidelines state that there should be only one community hospital per 100,000 - the area has eight for 320,000 people.
Under three different plans being considered, between five and seven of the hospitals will be shut, potentially saving up to £8.1m.
In each case, Westbury has been earmarked for closure, to be replaced by 24-hour community teams of district nurses, health visitors and social workers.
The town, like some of the others losing community hospitals, may also get a primary care centre comprising the traditional GP care with a range of extra services such as dermatology clinics, diagnostic tests and minor surgery.
However, nurses said they were unconvinced about the changes.
The BBC spoke to several nurses who did not wish to be identified because of fear over their jobs.
One said: "They have made promises about community teams and primary care centres, but hospitals are closing and as yet there is nothing to replace them.
"There is no guarantee nurses will want to work in these teams and communities could be left without sufficient services."
Local residents also said they were concerned. Judy Rose, of Dash2, a campaign group fighting to save services in the nearby town of Devizes, said: "It is hard for people who do not live in rural areas to understand, but local transport is very poor.
"Many find it hard to travel around and by taking away community hospitals, the PCTs risk leaving many without services."
To find out the situation in your area enter a full English postcode:
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/4976696.stm -
AT LEAST 20,000 extra operations a year are to be provided by the Scottish NHS in an attempt to slash the maximum wait for treatment to six months, Scotland on Sunday can reveal.
Ministers will attempt to tackle stubbornly long waiting lists by using a vast chunk of this year’s £4.4bn extra grant from the Treasury to provide scores of extra beds and hundreds of additional doctors and nurses.
Key to the plan is tripling the capacity of the Golden Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank from 70 beds to 220, allowing the centre to increase operations from 10,000 to 30,000 a year.
Other moves include a plan to send 1,000 patients a year to private hospitals and the establishment of English-style diagnostic centres which assess patientsÂ’ clinical needs and speed up treatment.
The plan is the Scottish ExecutiveÂ’s response to widespread criticism that it has been complacent on health issues while the NHS south of the Border implements dramatic reforms.
UK Health Secretary John Reid has repeatedly seized the headlines with announcements of bold initiatives and extra resources aimed at wooing voters disillusioned with LabourÂ’s record on the NHS. Last week, Reid declared waiting times south of the Border would be reduced to 18 weeks by 2008.
Last night, critics of the Executive accused ministers of being forced to perform a humiliating U-turn on health by adopting Blairite ideas such as increased use of the private sector and diagnostic centres.
Ministers insist they have come up with a Scottish solution to ScotlandÂ’s problems and, privately, express scepticism that Reid can deliver on his ambitious 18-week target.
In Scotland, around 100,000 patients are stuck on the official waiting list, some of whom face delays of up to a year.
Ministers see the former private HCI hospital at Clydebank, renamed the Golden Jubilee, as key to their plans. The HCI was bought specifically to tackle waiting list problems and currently specialises in heart operations.
Health officials will scour hospital records across Scotland to see if patients are being allowed to languish without treatment who could otherwise be sent to the Golden Jubilee.
Ministers believe the purchase of the hospital for £37.5m in June 2002 has been one of the success stories of the NHS since devolution.
The hospital currently has 72 beds but that will be increased to 220. There are 2,100 Scots waiting for some form of heart operation. Orthopaedic operations, also frequently hit by treatment delays, will be added to the procedures available.
In addition, ministers want to investigate how they can make more use of ScotlandÂ’s eight private hospitals to reduce waiting lists.
In previous years the NHS in Scotland has sent patients requiring hip replacements for private treatment as a last-ditch move to clear some waiting lists.
They will now investigate how the private sector can provide permanent help. A source said that it could be expected they would send a maximum of 1,000 patients to the private sector each year.
Ministers also want to examine whether the English system of diagnostic centres would work in Scotland.
The centres, which contain advanced medical equipment such as scanners, provide a middle ground between GPs and hospitals.
If a family doctor suspects a patient has a health problem, he or she goes first to a diagnostic centre which can pinpoint the illness, reducing some of the burden on hospital consultants.
Last night, a government source said the Executive was confident the package of measures would deliver the six-month waiting list target in Scotland. The source declared ReidÂ’s 18-week target as "very ambitious".
The source said: "The Golden Jubilee has been a revelation. The whole attitude is one of can-do and get people treated as quickly as possible. It is a truly amazing place. And there is a whole floor of the building with nothing in it, so we can use it to get more beds and facilities in there. We think itÂ’s a fantastic resource to allow us to get stuck into waiting lists.
"We also want to examine how the private sector can be used on a more ongoing basis. We have used private hospitals in the past on a one-off basis to tackle some waiting lists. The only problem is that the private sector is not big in Scotland, so there is a limit to how much impact they can have."
Last night, the British Medical Association, the doctorsÂ’ union, welcomed the plan.
Dr John Garner, chairman of BMA Scotland, said: "All these plans make a lot of sense and we support them. Since the NHS has bought the Golden Jubilee Hospital it makes sense to make as much use of the hospital as possible and use it to its maximum capacity.
"We think that using the private sector in Scotland is a good idea, but IÂ’m not sure how much impact it will have because the private sector in Scotland is relatively small. The Executive is right to consider the use of diagnostic centres, and we would suggest that the private sector could be employed to offer diagnostic services while the NHS builds up its capacity."
But Pat Dawson, the head of policy and public affairs at the Royal College of Nursing Scotland, said she had doubts: "ItÂ’s easy to talk about expanding the Golden Jubilee, but they will find a problem in finding the nurses to staff the expansion. The west of Scotland has a serious problem in recruiting and retaining nurses and what we need is action on that."
Shona Robison, the SNPÂ’s health spokeswoman, said: "The expansion of the Golden Jubilee is fine, but where will they get the staff for these posts? There are still critical shortages. And every pound paid to the private sector is a pound not spent on building capacity in the NHS in Scotland."
David Davidson, the Scottish ToriesÂ’ health spokesman, said: "Most of these proposals are very welcome, but the moves on the private sector and the diagnostic centres are a stunning U-turn by the Executive."
There are eight main private hospitals in Scotland with more than 300 beds in total, carrying out thousands of operations and treatments a year.
Bupa Murrayfield in Edinburgh has 69 beds.
Most of the operations there are in orthopaedics, such as hip and knee replacements, a speciality where NHS hospitals have found it particularly hard to meet targets.
Gair Stott, general manager of Murrayfield, said: "We are keen to work more closely with the NHS if we can get a long-term commitment. We would not be looking at a one-off, we would be looking at increasing capacity to take on more NHS patients."
http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=735072004 -
PATIENTS at a flagship hospital built through the private finance initiative scheme face the longest waits in accident and emergency in Scotland.
A census published yesterday of every A&E and community casualty unit in the country found that Edinburgh Royal Infirmary (ERI) scored worst, with patients having to wait over four hours.
The study found 35 per cent of the hospital's A&E patients were delayed longer than this compared with a Scottish average of 12 per cent. Andy Kerr, the health minister, conceded there was a problem at the ERI but was "confident" it was being addressed.
The census came as the Executive published a raft of figures on waiting times for a variety of treatments. These show the NHS continued to meet the target of no patient waiting longer than six months, with progress towards a maximum wait of 18 weeks by the end of 2007.
But the figures also revealed an increase in people on the "hidden" waiting list - those given "availability status codes" (ASCs), with no six-month treatment guarantee.
The A&E survey was carried out during a seven-day period in April, covering almost 30,000 attendances across Scotland.
The Executive has set a target that, by the end of 2007, 98 per cent of patients must be seen within four hours.
In April, almost nine out of ten (88 per cent) of A&E patients in Scotland waited less than four hours before discharge or admission, with a median wait of 97 minutes. Just 65 per cent were seen in four hours at the ERI - no other unit scored below 72 per cent. The ERI also had the longest median wait at 189 minutes.
The figures revealed that in 51 per cent of cases where patients were waiting more than four hours, the reason was a wait for a bed in the hospital. There was controversy about a reduction in bed numbers when the hospital was being built.
NHS Lothian claimed it had not scored better as it was "extremely busy" when the survey was carried out. Dr Casey Stewart, clinical director of medicine, said: "The weekend of the census also saw a multiple shooting in Edinburgh that placed unprecedented pressure on the A&E."
Mr Kerr, speaking as he released the figures at the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow, said long waits at the ERI were being dealt with. "I am reassured, and I have looked at this matter closely, that they are taking action that will resolve this."
Earlier this week, the ERI was one of the hospitals named and shamed by the Executive for failing to meet the expected high standards of cleanliness.
Margaret Watt, chairman of the Patients' Association, said it was not acceptable that people, sometimes with serious conditions, were left to wait hours in A&E: "Patients don't think the current system is good enough."
Mr Kerr visited Southern General's endoscopy unit yesterday with Jack McConnell, the First Minister, and said that overall waiting times in Scotland were now at their lowest-ever level.
There were no patients waiting longer than six months for inpatient or day treatment at the end of June, compared with 1,118 in June 2005.
There were 4,027 patients with treatment guaranteed waiting more than 18 weeks, down from 8,866 in June last year. But out of 104,791 patients waiting, 35,233 were exempt from guarantees because they had an ASC - handed out if someone misses or cancels an appointment or cannot be treated. This was up from 33,869 at the end of March.
Mr Kerr said the rise was down to people rescheduling appointments because of summer holidays. The Executive plans to abolish ASCs by 2007 to make the system "more transparent", Mr Kerr said.
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=57&id=1290262006 -
my dear self-denial singapore supremacist, i will take my rose tinted glasses of UK off when u take your rose tinted glasses of Singapore off.Originally posted by oxford mushroom:Get real! The opinion of the vast majority of the British people is that the NHS is crumbling fast despite the injection of huge amounts of cash. Take off your rose-tinted spectacles and see for yourself. -
Originally posted by reyes:
If you are paying heaps for medical service,
most forumers here are not targeting at medical staff but stating opinions how we can improve our medical structure and ministry of health.
if you feel are hard doneby, go ask for a pay increment or seek a job in australia or UK.[/b]
you should expect quality.
With a nurse patient ration of 1:20,
tell me what kind of quality can you expect to give?
Pay is not the primary issue, it's the justification of the amount of work that is the problem here.
The problem why so few Singaporeans are staying to work in our own hospitals is that the conditions are so third world, people rather go someplace else.
It's a pity our hospitals operate on a profit making mindset.
Health care should be affordable to all citizens, given that it is but a neccessity of life.
Ultimately, it's you, the patients who pay too much, yet do not get the best quality in healthcare services that u deserve that are at the losing end.
My sympathies.
-
in singapore,foreign nurse drops from some 25% of all nurse to some 18 % in 2006.but some may converted to PR or even citizens.
tx to more locals took up the jobs and may be better pays.
can any nurses share here??
2.sg now open doors to more top foreign medical schools.
thats why more docs around you. -
Hey oxford mushroom, you still have not told us where you live.
In the UK right?
-
In truth, when using percentage of GDP to measure cost, you have to consider demographics of each economy.
In this case, Singapore only just started to face an aging population, whereas in the US, the population already is very mature, going through significant cycles of aging and births.
Of course looking at young population like Singapore, our medical spending as a percentage of GDP is bound to be much lower.
As a better measure of comparison, they should add an additional factor for control. They should control the measurement and comparison based on age groups between each country. Then that means of comparison can be applied across both countries. -
yupOriginally posted by charlize:Hey oxford mushroom, you still have not told us where you live.
In the UK right?