I don’t want a sodding ‘choice’ when I am ill and in pain.
I want a healthcare service that offers good care locally with short wait times, free at the point of use and available to all.
I want the NHS.
“Choice” is ALWAYS Toryspeak for privatisation or cover for funding cuts.
I supposedly have the choice of *three* hospitals for my hearing aid care. Any others are out of my reach due to distance anyway. In reality I get no choice, because there is so little availability that I can only take the next appointment, sometimes months away.
“more choice” isn’t a choice unless you fix the system to have availability and the doctors/practitioners available to DO the appointments, which isn’t going to be a quick fix, at least not quick AND safe AND not feeding NHS money into private moneypits.
I’m not against it, but there are steps that are needed before “more choice” really becomes a reality, not an empty promise.
I don’t understand how this works. As stated in the article you can already choose where you get care for non urgent issues. But assuming this opens up further choice, it will likely just put more pressure on specific hospitals.
I.e. if you’d normally be seen at hospital A, but hospital B had better ratings you’d likely choose B, as with everyone else. So B gets overrun and ends up unable to cope whereas A, given the lack of patients probably gets reduced funding and loses some departments as a result (hey maybe it gets investment, who knows).
The alternative that I can see is that by sharing waiting lists you actually may get forced to go somewhere you don’t want to (or given a pseudo choice like “go to hospital A, 10 month waiting list, or hospital B with a 4 month waiting list”). This way patients would have to travel further to get care in a “timely” manner. Which is what we already do for things like paediatric mental health care.
And the promises start, how many times have we heard from all the parties that they’re gonna fix the NHS.
Disappointing grandstanding from Streeting who doesn’t fill me with confidence as a potential health secretary in waiting.
Patients are perfectly aware, at the point of referral, that they have a choice. I know this because I do the referrals and I tell people.
One of the many issues with the suits who have made policy over the years is that the focus groups they take their cues from are almost certainly not representative of the population that most uses the NHS, which is overwhelmingly older people. Folk who are (by definition) ill, elderly, in many cases frail and struggling with mobility are unwilling and often unable to go much further afield than their local hospital for treatment. And generally even for relatively simple stuff, a referral will generate multiple trips to secondary care facilities.
People want their local hospital to be good and to be able to offer them an appointment before a limb drops off.
They’re going to offer a bloody tiered system, aren’t they? A free service where you have to wait six months to see a doctor or a deluxe premium service that’s much quicker. It’s not privatisation, it’s offering a choice.
Great so labour or Tory both are gonna take away our NHS next election, wankers.
Wes Streeting to me seems like a human Trojan Horse.
What he means is, Labour are going to continue the privatisation of the NHS.
Wes is a fucking awful corrupt politician who’s in the pockets of private healthy lobbyists
I love it when they make all these ‘promises’ when they want to be elected, but when they win, these ‘promises’ are conveniently ‘forgotten’ about until it is time for the following elections. And I am referring to all political parties.
Oh my god Labour cracked it.
Oh wait no they didn’t… This will do next to nothing.
We don’t want or need bloody “choices”, Wes, we just want and need a well-funded, properly resourced NHS. What, is your pitch that I’ll get the choice of which endless waiting list I’m on if I fall seriously ill?
This upcoming Labour government has its finger hovering over the “privatise healthcare” button already. They clearly have a gigantic urge to press it the minute they’re back in.
And people are going to vote for them in droves… fucking hell.
“patient choice” is such a useless buzzword used by people who have no idea what patients actually want.
Patients want high quality care, as locally as possible and in a timely matter. When the service is on its arse and patients are waiting more than a year for treatment, no one is thinking “wow, I wish I had more choice in whicj hospital I go to.”
But beside that, I’m struggling to see what Labour’s plan actually is? ICBs of course already do this — if one hospital has capacity then it is filled with patients from elsewhere in the system.
The issue is that *everywhere* has a massive wait list right now. There is no spare capacity somewhere else. No one is twiddling thumbs wishing a government would intervene and fill their waitlists.
Labour clearly have nothing to offer except probably adding a bunch of reporting overhead to something that already happens.
This choice bullshit is irritating. I don’t want choice I want low waiting times and quality care
People don’t want choice, they want a single option that actually works
Seriously, why the fuck gave Labour embraced every tory vocal point as if it fucking matters?
I don’t give two shits about a choice, I want a service where – no matter who I see – I get the treatment I need.
I’m not happy with much coming from labour these days, but they seem to have given in to the tory speaking grounds, in terms of giving people a ‘choice’, and not rocking the boat too much.
If the last 40 years have shown anything, it’s that the current method of money is everything and if it can’t turn a profit it’s bad, doesn’t fucking work!
Give us public services. Run them at a loss if need be, but get the population healthy and able to manage day-to-day life, and maybe, just maybe, the increased wages and taxes will help cover the cost.
Tell you where I’d like more choice, and it’s not in the NHS.
It’s at the ballot box. Continuation of the catastrophic healthcare policies of the last 13 years with either major party is no choice at all.
People just want to see their local GP (preferably the same GP every time they go) and to have quick access to consultants should they need further treatment. It is not about choice, it is about getting the right treatment on time so that they feel better as soon as possible. That is not too much to ask but both of the main parties seem to think people want a tiered system in some form.
“would you like to wait for 3 years over here or would you like to wait 3 years over there? or would you like to go private and wait 1 year?”
Is Streeting Labour’s Liam Fox? I think he might be.
I have plenty of choice at the moment. I can have one waiting list or another waiting list, all with seemingly inept doctors.
Is the choice using a shit NHS or paying for it yourself? Fuck you Streeting, you fucking red Tory.
Yeah when I broke my arm the thing that really stung was only having one A&E department to choose from.
Ban fat people taking part in the NHS. Half the NHS visits cut by half cas everyone is more healthy and now people who need real treatment gets priority.
And they won’t try and sell it to the americans, ( lower case a intentional)
Patients don’t need choice. Patients need to be told what’s wrong and how to sort it.
26 comments
I don’t want a sodding ‘choice’ when I am ill and in pain.
I want a healthcare service that offers good care locally with short wait times, free at the point of use and available to all.
I want the NHS.
“Choice” is ALWAYS Toryspeak for privatisation or cover for funding cuts.
I supposedly have the choice of *three* hospitals for my hearing aid care. Any others are out of my reach due to distance anyway. In reality I get no choice, because there is so little availability that I can only take the next appointment, sometimes months away.
“more choice” isn’t a choice unless you fix the system to have availability and the doctors/practitioners available to DO the appointments, which isn’t going to be a quick fix, at least not quick AND safe AND not feeding NHS money into private moneypits.
I’m not against it, but there are steps that are needed before “more choice” really becomes a reality, not an empty promise.
I don’t understand how this works. As stated in the article you can already choose where you get care for non urgent issues. But assuming this opens up further choice, it will likely just put more pressure on specific hospitals.
I.e. if you’d normally be seen at hospital A, but hospital B had better ratings you’d likely choose B, as with everyone else. So B gets overrun and ends up unable to cope whereas A, given the lack of patients probably gets reduced funding and loses some departments as a result (hey maybe it gets investment, who knows).
The alternative that I can see is that by sharing waiting lists you actually may get forced to go somewhere you don’t want to (or given a pseudo choice like “go to hospital A, 10 month waiting list, or hospital B with a 4 month waiting list”). This way patients would have to travel further to get care in a “timely” manner. Which is what we already do for things like paediatric mental health care.
And the promises start, how many times have we heard from all the parties that they’re gonna fix the NHS.
Little reminder, none of them will…
[https://www.yournhsneedsyou.com/timeline/](https://www.yournhsneedsyou.com/timeline/)
Disappointing grandstanding from Streeting who doesn’t fill me with confidence as a potential health secretary in waiting.
Patients are perfectly aware, at the point of referral, that they have a choice. I know this because I do the referrals and I tell people.
One of the many issues with the suits who have made policy over the years is that the focus groups they take their cues from are almost certainly not representative of the population that most uses the NHS, which is overwhelmingly older people. Folk who are (by definition) ill, elderly, in many cases frail and struggling with mobility are unwilling and often unable to go much further afield than their local hospital for treatment. And generally even for relatively simple stuff, a referral will generate multiple trips to secondary care facilities.
People want their local hospital to be good and to be able to offer them an appointment before a limb drops off.
They’re going to offer a bloody tiered system, aren’t they? A free service where you have to wait six months to see a doctor or a deluxe premium service that’s much quicker. It’s not privatisation, it’s offering a choice.
Great so labour or Tory both are gonna take away our NHS next election, wankers.
Wes Streeting to me seems like a human Trojan Horse.
What he means is, Labour are going to continue the privatisation of the NHS.
Wes is a fucking awful corrupt politician who’s in the pockets of private healthy lobbyists
I love it when they make all these ‘promises’ when they want to be elected, but when they win, these ‘promises’ are conveniently ‘forgotten’ about until it is time for the following elections. And I am referring to all political parties.
Oh my god Labour cracked it.
Oh wait no they didn’t… This will do next to nothing.
We don’t want or need bloody “choices”, Wes, we just want and need a well-funded, properly resourced NHS. What, is your pitch that I’ll get the choice of which endless waiting list I’m on if I fall seriously ill?
This upcoming Labour government has its finger hovering over the “privatise healthcare” button already. They clearly have a gigantic urge to press it the minute they’re back in.
And people are going to vote for them in droves… fucking hell.
“patient choice” is such a useless buzzword used by people who have no idea what patients actually want.
Patients want high quality care, as locally as possible and in a timely matter. When the service is on its arse and patients are waiting more than a year for treatment, no one is thinking “wow, I wish I had more choice in whicj hospital I go to.”
But beside that, I’m struggling to see what Labour’s plan actually is? ICBs of course already do this — if one hospital has capacity then it is filled with patients from elsewhere in the system.
The issue is that *everywhere* has a massive wait list right now. There is no spare capacity somewhere else. No one is twiddling thumbs wishing a government would intervene and fill their waitlists.
Labour clearly have nothing to offer except probably adding a bunch of reporting overhead to something that already happens.
This choice bullshit is irritating. I don’t want choice I want low waiting times and quality care
People don’t want choice, they want a single option that actually works
Seriously, why the fuck gave Labour embraced every tory vocal point as if it fucking matters?
I don’t give two shits about a choice, I want a service where – no matter who I see – I get the treatment I need.
I’m not happy with much coming from labour these days, but they seem to have given in to the tory speaking grounds, in terms of giving people a ‘choice’, and not rocking the boat too much.
If the last 40 years have shown anything, it’s that the current method of money is everything and if it can’t turn a profit it’s bad, doesn’t fucking work!
Give us public services. Run them at a loss if need be, but get the population healthy and able to manage day-to-day life, and maybe, just maybe, the increased wages and taxes will help cover the cost.
Tell you where I’d like more choice, and it’s not in the NHS.
It’s at the ballot box. Continuation of the catastrophic healthcare policies of the last 13 years with either major party is no choice at all.
People just want to see their local GP (preferably the same GP every time they go) and to have quick access to consultants should they need further treatment. It is not about choice, it is about getting the right treatment on time so that they feel better as soon as possible. That is not too much to ask but both of the main parties seem to think people want a tiered system in some form.
“would you like to wait for 3 years over here or would you like to wait 3 years over there? or would you like to go private and wait 1 year?”
Is Streeting Labour’s Liam Fox? I think he might be.
I have plenty of choice at the moment. I can have one waiting list or another waiting list, all with seemingly inept doctors.
Is the choice using a shit NHS or paying for it yourself? Fuck you Streeting, you fucking red Tory.
Yeah when I broke my arm the thing that really stung was only having one A&E department to choose from.
Ban fat people taking part in the NHS. Half the NHS visits cut by half cas everyone is more healthy and now people who need real treatment gets priority.
And they won’t try and sell it to the americans, ( lower case a intentional)
Patients don’t need choice. Patients need to be told what’s wrong and how to sort it.