I visited the doctors today and plastered all over the waiting room were statistics about how many missed appointments there were in September:
- 131 to see a GP
- 90 to see the Nurse
I have to say I was really surprised. Not only is at an absolute pain in the rear end trying to get an appointment with the GP in the first place – especially an emergency appointment, to have made an appointment in the first place you must have taken the time to phone them and arranged a convenient time.
The Government is constantly cutting NHS budgets, so can you imagine the money saved if we actually attended the appointments that we booked?
I have to admit that I am the first one to moan at poor treatment by NHS Staff – the receptionist that made me jump through hoops so I could see a doctor or the GP that kept me waiting way past my appointment time. 52.17% of people surveyed in my region (the South West) think that poor treatment is a result of staff being overworked.
Did you know that the NHS have allocated £22 billion to medical negligence lawsuits this year– would you consider suing if you had not received adequate treatment. 39.13% of my region would and 45.65% weren’t sure. I have to say that I probably would if it resulted in permanent health issues that needed specialist care.
That said, I do really value the NHS. They have been there to reassure me when Abbey had febrile convulsions as a baby, they have fixed Kian’s broken arm and have looked after me through 6 pregnancies, 3 cases of Gestational Diabetes and an emergency caesarian – all for free!
Lets look after our NHS so they can look after us!**In association with First4Lawyers**