I suppose the bottom line is Doctor & Patient - One to One. You go along and say you're ill. If you're lucky, he figures out what's wrong with you and gives you some treatment.
The point I'm getting at is that this could take place in the middle of a field. All the things that are built on top of this simple truth are bolt-on bells and whistles, primarily for the Doctors convenience but hopefully also for the patients.
From what I can gather there are two centres of GP activity in Little Lever, one of course is the 'Health Centre' run under the auspices of the NHS and the other is Springview which is a privately owned building with a two doctor practice who I assume get paid by the NHS.
The Health Centre seems to contain three GP practices involving to a greater or lesser degree some 11 doctors. (On various internet sites there are 11 doctors names logged against the Health Centre - How accurate this is I don't know.
The building I guess dates from the 60's or early 70's, brick built with a flat felted roof and a front facia which seems to be of painted wood. Anecdotally has become dilapidated with leaking roof and certainly the front facia has not been maintained for years.
Have a look at some piccys. The first one tells you all you need to know.
I suspect that apart from this, the real problem with the physicality of the building is that it simply isn't large enough to accomodate all the ancillary medical procedures which GPs now get involved in (and get paid extra for).
So along come the Bolton Primary Care Trust ( Now NHS Bolton ) with the proposition to build a series of state of the art buildings in several areas of Bolton. And that's it. They are providing the building ( and maybe equipping it).
From remarks made by representatives of the PCT at the Area Forum there is no agreement yet made with any of the doctors that they will in fact move into the building if and when it finally arrives.
The question is if it were to be built and occupied tomorrow, would the patient experience be improved?
Found this little gem on the NHS Complaints site.
Posted by VERY WORRIED PATIENT two weeks ago
"We have been patients at Little Lever health centre for several years and have always been pleased with the support of the staff and the care of the doctors and nurses.
However, I think in the past few months there seem to be many problems concerned with the reception people.
One morning I waited 10 minutes with their phone ringing to gain an appointment with a nurse. No one answered, I rang back and it then was engaged, I rang repeatedly but I think the phone seemed to be switched to engaged as they were unobtainable. I tried for two hours to get through. I find this is not an isolated incident, it happens frequently.
Although they state you can order repeat medication via the internet, I find this is not the case. I put items on the internet, when no one gets back to you (we have left as long as two weeks and been completely out of medication,) you call in and inform them. They then check the internet and print the items, you have to wait until a doctor is available to sign. I believe this is worse than just calling in, dropping your prescription and going back the next day.
This morning as stated I received a letter to request I have my check up for hypertension, I ended up having to walk to the centre to speak to the reception. I asked also if I was supposed to have nothing to eat or drink prior to the test, she did not know and had no one to ask. I mentioned that there was a notice about suggestions for the centre and could I have a form. She was unaware of any forms and gave me a blank piece of A4 paper!
What is concerning is that if there is an emergency, there may be no one will answer the phone.
I wish someone would look into this and help rectify what is going wrong"
To which the reply last week was :-
"Hi - Sorry to hear you've been worried. As the Primary Care Trust for the Bolton Area we've alerted all three of the GP practices based at Little Lever Health Centre to your posting as we're not sure which one you are registered with
It's important that you take up these issues with the practice concerned - your feedback will help them improve their service. If the Practice Manager is unable to resolve matters to your satisfaction please don't hesitate to contact NHS Bolton and we'll be happy to look into it.............................I hope your discussions with the practice are fruitful
Contributed by Communications Manager, NHS Bolton"
Practice Managers? - Communication Managers? - Just pick up the bloody phone!!!
Remarks made by the public at various Area Forums left no one there in any doubt that the biggest bone of contention is the appointments system. Typically you can't get an appointment till next week -
" But I'm not ill next week I'm ill now"
" Well, can I make an appointment for next week?"
" No - you can only make an appointment 48 hrs in advance"
Say no more !!!
This is followed by the allegation that patients from Moses Gate & Farnworth were being treated at the Health Centre thus making getting an appointment more difficult.
Ask yourself - If they cannot or unwilling to sort this out in the existing building, would it be any different in the new building?
This now brings me on to the likelyhood of the new building ever being built.
Make no mistake about it, the glory days of pumping squillions into the NHS have gone. From next year, whoever is in government, there will be cuts and particularly cuts in Capital Projects. If the money for Little Lever Centre is not already in it's own seperate bank account, then the odds are there will be no money.
In an article in the Bolton News of last week, NHS Bolton admitted it couldn't balance it's books at the present moment and were looking at cuts in budgets and rescheduling projects such as the District Health Centre Building Programme.
This is a copy of a letter I have written in response which has yet to be published.
"Dear Sir
So, now it is out in the open. The local Primary Care Trust - NHS Bolton - has admitted that they are intending to save £4m by rescheduling the building of the planned six District Health Centres. As far as I am aware these were all to be completed by 2011.
At an Area Forum Meeting for Little Lever and Darcy Lever on 14th July the PCT's Chief Executive gave a presentation which left many of us in no doubt that since, in health terms, Little Lever was not considered to be deprived, then the Little Lever Health Centre was likely to be the last of the six to be built. Although he has promised to report back at the end of Autumn, it is likely that if we see this new Health Centre this side of 2015 then we'll be lucky.
The problem is that the existing Health Centre is falling down. Buckets are catching the rain leaking through the roof. The service to patients is anecdotally pathetic. The place is at least twenty years beyond its planned lifespan.
Surely, after the billions of extra cash that the Government has ploughed into the NHS on our behalf, Little Lever Residents should be able to expect a decent building within which to consult with our doctors. Not some great palace full of wizard technology - just a decent building.
The building money should have been ring-fenced from the cost of sophisticated procedures elsewhere.
Little Lever should stop always being seen as the well off Auntie when it is in fact becoming impoverished and we should receive equal, if not greater, priority with other Districts on the basis of the dilapidation of the existing building.
Councillor Hornby has convened a Public Meeting on the subject which will take place
on Tuesday 6th October at 7pm at Mytham Road Primary School.
This subject has raised the blood pressure of the residents of Little Lever which must be a matter of great concern for the PCT."
Enough for now - apart from - Have you heard about the proposal to move the Library into the new Health Centre when it is built - "because it's not big enough". Who says so - " The Librarians" - No they don't, I've asked them. Apparently there's £1 million available in some fund or other that can be squandered by the Council on this.
Paul
No comments:
Post a Comment