Do you want to choose the hospital you're treated at?
Yesterday, Lord Darzi published his much anticipated 12-month review of the NHS. Patients ability to rate the quality of their NHS care is central to the report and this will directly affect hospitals' and GPs' funding in England in future.
On Monday, iPM's Chris Vallance spoke to Tim Kelsey, Chair of the executive board of Dr Foster Intelligence. His company publish data allowing people to compare NHS hospitals. The results feature on the NHS Choices website which the company also run.
It's a long interview - largely uncut - and bear in mind it was done before Darzi announced the publication of the review and a constitution for the NHS.
The interview covers a lot of ground, but those of you who're following this closely are likely to find it interesting. Out of the points raised, which would you like to see focused on for Saturday's programme?
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In the interview Tim talks about the release of survival data. That is scheduled to happen next week, Dr Foster tells us it will cover: AAA, vascular (elective), AAA, vascular(emergency), Knee replacement (elective) and Hip replacement (elective)
Bernard Ribeiro of the Royal College of Surgeons gives his reaction below:
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NO on the hospital question.
On another issue, THANK YOU for interviewing Haltemprice and Howden's next MP, SHAN OAKES (Green).
Please make sure the rest of the BBC pick up the story that DavidDavis is about to lose his political career and we are about to see the first Green voice at Westminster.
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Yes, I'll take the Mayo Clinic. And make that with ham and swiss on rye with a side of slaw.
You mean to say you in Britain don't get to choose? What if the service you get is incompetent? What if the hospitals are flithy? You pay for it, why don't you demand better?
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No.
All I want is good quality treatment, reasonably quickly, reasonably close to home.
These the are fundamental requirements of ALL hospitals, and we should be striving to acheive them in all hospitals.
Choice is a pointless concept that we don't need, and which detracts from the real issues.
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No, so long as it is close to home and has competent staff.
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No thanks. Just knowing I'd get good treatment at any hospital, ideally my local one, is all I ask for.
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As a chronically ill person who makes plenty of use of the NHS (especially now that I am 7 months pregnant!) I have been lucky enough to have use of St. Mary's Hospital in Paddington (London). I do not think we should be able to choose our hospital, as every hospital should offer the same outstanding level of care. We should only be able to choose in situations where the local hospital is not up to that standard.
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CHOOSE TO WHAT END?
Choice implies difference. But what differences will there be? My recent experiences, as both companion to a patient and patient myself (both persons suffering some loss of hearing acuity) would make me seek out a hospital staffed by those I can understand. 'And your second choice' did you say?
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What would be the point of choosing. The only two hospitals, same trust one does feet one does hips, that I have been in are the only ones that I know anything about so why would I want to choose one of which I have no knowledge.
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No. What if my local hopital became unpopular for whatever reason, and we all had the chance to choose to go elsewhere? We all leave in droves, and the hospital closes as a result. At the moment, although I have a chronic condition, I'm reasonably healthy, mobile, and active. I could take myself miles away. My point is, it would be those very people who use the service the most, i.e. poorer , elderly, disabled, who would be most disadvantaged by choice. It would be exploited by the better off and informed, in other words 'the worried well'. I got bored listening to the interview and started thinking about tonights dinner, so I don't know whether this was covered later on. But like everyone above, all we want is a reasonable, local hospital, that can provide at a good standard, the health care that we all need from time to time. Choice is not good for our lovely NHS.
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No - unless it is filthy; has nurses with attitude; doctors who ignore their pagers and turn up three hours later; admin staff who chat together while you are waiting to present for an appointment - oh hang on - that's most of my local hospitals. I'll change my mind - Yes I do want to be able to choose my hospital - preferably one in Australia or the USA please.
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In an ideal world local hospitals would have experts in every specialty. But in reality this cannot happen. For example, there are not enough brain tumours to allow every hospital to have expert neurosurgeons.
There are compromises that have to be made to allow the NHS to be 'free'. I think I prefer it to the US system (where I have also worked.) At least in the NHS our first question is usually: 'What is the problem?' In America it was: 'How are you going to pay for this?'
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