In the light of Farage’s policies to privatise the NHS , it would seem churlish to complain about our health service here in Cymru, yet my recent experiences have opened up the proverbial can of worms ( do worms ever come in cans?), and it was a letter from a limited company based in Preston, Lancs which did so.
About a month ago it arrived and my first reaction was that it was a scam.
It instructed me to attend an appointment at the Opthalmology Dept. at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital at 2 pm on a Sunday.
Now, I do know that health is a devolved matter and also that Labour are supposed to be against privatisation…..so this threw me!
I phoned Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr, where I’ve attended the eye clinic for the last 15 years as a glaucoma sufferer ; though I’ve noticed in the last couple of years that I’ve had to contact them asking for an appointment.
Phoning them proved impossible as you now get through to a central call centre and I ended up on hold for a very long time.
When I phoned the Preston firm they told me they were acting on behalf of PCH as their waiting lists were too long, but assured me they’d switch my appointment from Royal Glam to PCH.
Over a month later, I’ve heard nothing.
When I put these details up on Facebook many people responded with far worse stories of not being seen at all, being referred to private hospitals who didn’t deal with their medical problem and even to high street opticians. Some had received the same letter and duly gone to the Royal Glam.
As an eye patient you can’t drive because of the eye-drops administered which ( for those who do drive) makes things difficult.
For the rest of us, Sunday transport is erratic or , in the case of my area , non-existent!
What was worrying was the assertion by many that there was no Ophalmology left in PCH and only consultants based at Royal Glam.
Many patients attending the eye clinic are elderly and should not have to travel such distances ,while buses to PCH are very regular during the week and it’s easily accessible.
Even more concerning was the reaction from a friend who has been involved in the NHS throughout his life at a senior level. According to him the scenario could be even more disturbing, with the possibility of Opthalmology following the route of dentistry into ever-increasing private care.
These two fundamentals kept hammering away at my thoughts : why would a private company in England be deployed in out-sourcing when health is under WAG control and how could a Labour/LibDem administration in Cardiff justify paying a private company to carry out their dirty work?
Surely, it isn’t even economic to do this, as anyone who complains will have to be relocated.
I contacted our Labour AM Dawn Bowden who wrote - ‘…this is a temporary measure that has been put in place to deal with a considerable UK wide backlog with glaucoma follow up treatments.’
The key here is ‘UK wide’ and this suggests that suddenly , and inexplicably, health is no longer a devolved issue.
I have now contacted our Plaid Cymru AM Delyth Jewell in the hope that she can obtain more clarity on the matter and assure me that I will get a local appointment as promised.
All this came at a time of family illnesses where the whole system seemed at breaking-point.
At our surgery it was always possible to phone after 8 am and get an appointment on the day.
Now everything goes through answer machines urging you to go online and when you reach a ‘Care Navigator’ any appointment can be as far away as a week.
Of course, I realise that austerity and impending Brexit have influenced all this, but the fact is that GPs can earn as much working part-time for a week as most teachers over a month and , as with education, the system has far too many managers and not enough hands-on staff.
As an avowed socialist I want the unfinished business of one Nye Bevan to be fully completed and that means no privatisation whatsoever.
Consultants need to dedicate all their time to the NHS not private surgeries and nobody should be forced to ‘go private’ because of long waiting-lists for operations.
As with education, power must be distributed along with wages, so all those involved are making decisions.
Traditionally ( and the latest variety’s no different) Labour have been committed to top-down organisation , with an inherent suspicion of real democracy which empowers workforce and patients.
The vast majority of those who work in Cymru’s NHS are hard-working and dedicated, with many who’ve come from abroad to make their lives here.
Ophthalmology could realistically be devolved to various health hubs such as Keir Hardie Health Park in Merthyr, but that doesn’t seem to be the plan ( if there is one!).
Labour rule in the nation which produced and inspired Nye Bevan reflects the state of Britain itself : devoid of a vision for the future.
STILL WAITING TO HEAR
Fifteen years of glaucoma
Inherited from my grandmother,
Though I much prefer
Her ancient typewriter
And love of poetry
I used to read aloud
When she couldn’t see properly.
Now a letter from a Preston company
Which I think is a scam,
Knowing our health service
Is supposed to be a Welsh one.
It tells me to travel
20 miles for a Sunday afternoon
Appointment but not to drive
Because of the eye-drops
(Luckily, I don’t drive anyway) ;
Though the buses are beyond.
Being a full-time member
Of the Stroppy Sods Brigade
I complain to Prince Charles
( Hospital and not Windsor)
And I’m on hold endlessly.
Then the limited company
Assure me it’ll be rearranged,
But I’m still waiting to hear……
As our Labour rulers blame the Tories
Ranting against appalling privatisation
As if it weren’t happening here.
In the light of Farage’s policies to privatise the NHS , it would seem churlish to complain about our health service here in Cymru, yet my recent experiences have opened up the proverbial can of worms ( do worms ever come in cans?), and it was a letter from a limited company based in Preston, Lancs which did so.
About a month ago it arrived and my first reaction was that it was a scam.
It instructed me to attend an appointment at the Opthalmology Dept. at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital at 2 pm on a Sunday.
Now, I do know that health is a devolved matter and also that Labour are supposed to be against privatisation…..so this threw me!
I phoned Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr, where I’ve attended the eye clinic for the last 15 years as a glaucoma sufferer ; though I’ve noticed in the last couple of years that I’ve had to contact them asking for an appointment.
Phoning them proved impossible as you now get through to a central call centre and I ended up on hold for a very long time.
When I phoned the Preston firm they told me they were acting on behalf of PCH as their waiting lists were too long, but assured me they’d switch my appointment from Royal Glam to PCH.
Over a month later, I’ve heard nothing.
When I put these details up on Facebook many people responded with far worse stories of not being seen at all, being referred to private hospitals who didn’t deal with their medical problem and even to high street opticians. Some had received the same letter and duly gone to the Royal Glam.
As an eye patient you can’t drive because of the eye-drops administered which ( for those who do drive) makes things difficult.
For the rest of us, Sunday transport is erratic or , in the case of my area , non-existent!
What was worrying was the assertion by many that there was no Ophalmology left in PCH and only consultants based at Royal Glam.
Many patients attending the eye clinic are elderly and should not have to travel such distances ,while buses to PCH are very regular during the week and it’s easily accessible.
Even more concerning was the reaction from a friend who has been involved in the NHS throughout his life at a senior level. According to him the scenario could be even more disturbing, with the possibility of Opthalmology following the route of dentistry into ever-increasing private care.
These two fundamentals kept hammering away at my thoughts : why would a private company in England be deployed in out-sourcing when health is under WAG control and how could a Labour/LibDem administration in Cardiff justify paying a private company to carry out their dirty work?
Surely, it isn’t even economic to do this, as anyone who complains will have to be relocated.
I contacted our Labour AM Dawn Bowden who wrote - ‘…this is a temporary measure that has been put in place to deal with a considerable UK wide backlog with glaucoma follow up treatments.’
The key here is ‘UK wide’ and this suggests that suddenly , and inexplicably, health is no longer a devolved issue.
I have now contacted our Plaid Cymru AM Delyth Jewell in the hope that she can obtain more clarity on the matter and assure me that I will get a local appointment as promised.
All this came at a time of family illnesses where the whole system seemed at breaking-point.
At our surgery it was always possible to phone after 8 am and get an appointment on the day.
Now everything goes through answer machines urging you to go online and when you reach a ‘Care Navigator’ any appointment can be as far away as a week.
Of course, I realise that austerity and impending Brexit have influenced all this, but the fact is that GPs can earn as much working part-time for a week as most teachers over a month and , as with education, the system has far too many managers and not enough hands-on staff.
As an avowed socialist I want the unfinished business of one Nye Bevan to be fully completed and that means no privatisation whatsoever.
Consultants need to dedicate all their time to the NHS not private surgeries and nobody should be forced to ‘go private’ because of long waiting-lists for operations.
As with education, power must be distributed along with wages, so all those involved are making decisions.
Traditionally ( and the latest variety’s no different) Labour have been committed to top-down organisation , with an inherent suspicion of real democracy which empowers workforce and patients.
The vast majority of those who work in Cymru’s NHS are hard-working and dedicated, with many who’ve come from abroad to make their lives here.
Ophthalmology could realistically be devolved to various health hubs such as Keir Hardie Health Park in Merthyr, but that doesn’t seem to be the plan ( if there is one!).
Labour rule in the nation which produced and inspired Nye Bevan reflects the state of Britain itself : devoid of a vision for the future.
STILL WAITING TO HEAR
Fifteen years of glaucoma
Inherited from my grandmother,
Though I much prefer
Her ancient typewriter
And love of poetry
I used to read aloud
When she couldn’t see properly.
Now a letter from a Preston company
Which I think is a scam,
Knowing our health service
Is supposed to be a Welsh one.
It tells me to travel
20 miles for a Sunday afternoon
Appointment but not to drive
Because of the eye-drops
(Luckily, I don’t drive anyway) ;
Though the buses are beyond.
Being a full-time member
Of the Stroppy Sods Brigade
I complain to Prince Charles
( Hospital and not Windsor)
And I’m on hold endlessly.
Then the limited company
Assure me it’ll be rearranged,
But I’m still waiting to hear……
As our Labour rulers blame the Tories
Ranting against appalling privatisation
As if it weren’t happening here.
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