Comments on: Another step towards a democratically-commissioned health service? http://www.lordtobyharris.org.uk/another-step-towards-a-democratically-commissioned-health-service/ Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:40:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: Paul Lettan http://www.lordtobyharris.org.uk/another-step-towards-a-democratically-commissioned-health-service/comment-page-1/#comment-1122 Paul Lettan Sun, 13 Sep 2009 10:56:22 +0000 http://www.lordtobyharris.org.uk/?p=701#comment-1122 My sense of the impact of the changes is to disperse and concentrate services. Disperse so that patients have further to travel to reach their GP and concentrate services in larger and more impersonal centres where patient centered care becomes irrelevant and less personalised. Changes proposed in my area are the creation of a medical centre by merging 3 gp practices. I will have twice the distance to travel to see my gp. I will rarely see my gp and often be fobbed off with a locum and/or trainee. It will also be further than my hospital so I will probably clog up A and E more often. I will also require transport to get there. Because I suffer from a number of different health conditions (I'm under 6 hospital consultants) there is every chance that due to proposals to concentrate specialisations in different hospitals I will find I need to travel even further. All of this will cause me increased distress, increased inconvenience and increased costs and disruptance. Given changes already in the pipeline where will be my choice? My choices are already being limited to the point of meaninglessness. My last years of life loom like a nightmare and will cause increased costs and inconvenience to myself and family. So far I can manage without a wheelchair, these changes will hasten my need for a chair and further deterioration in my health and well being. My sense of the impact of the changes is to disperse and concentrate services. Disperse so that patients have further to travel to reach their GP and concentrate services in larger and more impersonal centres where patient centered care becomes irrelevant and less personalised.

Changes proposed in my area are the creation of a medical centre by merging 3 gp practices. I will have twice the distance to travel to see my gp. I will rarely see my gp and often be fobbed off with a locum and/or trainee.

It will also be further than my hospital so I will probably clog up A and E more often. I will also require transport to get there.

Because I suffer from a number of different health conditions (I’m under 6 hospital consultants) there is every chance that due to proposals to concentrate specialisations in different hospitals I will find I need to travel even further.

All of this will cause me increased distress, increased inconvenience and increased costs and disruptance. Given changes already in the pipeline where will be my choice? My choices are already being limited to the point of meaninglessness. My last years of life loom like a nightmare and will cause increased costs and inconvenience to myself and family. So far I can manage without a wheelchair, these changes will hasten my need for a chair and further deterioration in my health and well being.

]]> By: Richard T http://www.lordtobyharris.org.uk/another-step-towards-a-democratically-commissioned-health-service/comment-page-1/#comment-1117 Richard T Fri, 11 Sep 2009 09:28:19 +0000 http://www.lordtobyharris.org.uk/?p=701#comment-1117 Surely the idea of democratic control, especially in conjunction with local authorities, might produce endemic and contagious cardiac arrest throughout the upper echelons of the Department of Health and then spreading into the Communities and Local Government Department. Whatever next? Decentralising the Madelson empire? Perish the thought. Surely the idea of democratic control, especially in conjunction with local authorities, might produce endemic and contagious cardiac arrest throughout the upper echelons of the Department of Health and then spreading into the Communities and Local Government Department. Whatever next? Decentralising the Madelson empire? Perish the thought.

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