NHS WASTE

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Thousands of prescription forms, carrying the names and addresses of patients, go missing every year as they are transported around the NHS. The government has admitted that almost 300,000 have been lost or stolen in England since 1997. A spokesman for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society said that prescription form loss, while rare, was inconvenient to pharmacists and could possibly see patient data falling into the wrong hands.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said that clear guidance on "information governance" was available to the NHS, and a further review of security was underway and added, "There are electronic systems on the way, but no system would be perfect, and there would still have to be a paper back-up somewhere. The NHS takes the protection of patient data extremely seriously." (Source: BBC News, Mar/08)

NHS staff have been mistakenly faxing patients' notes to a garden store for two years. More than 50 "confidential" messages on intimate examinations and mental problems have been sent out by GPs and hospitals across Kent. But they've ended up at Brookside Garden Centre in East Peckham instead of Thornhills Medical Group in Larkfield, whose fax number has the same last six digits. Brookside boss Terry Shead said, "I've reported the problem many times." West Kent Primary Care Trust replied, "We will investigate this." (Source: Daily Mirror, Sep/07)

The Department of Health spent nearly £4million on taxis and first-class and business-class fares in the last year. Public Health Minister Dawn Primarolo revealed that taxi fares cost £310,754 in the last 12 months, first-class train tickets more than £3.1million, first-class flights nearly £9,950 and business class air travel £463,723.

A Health Department spokeswoman said, “Our people need to travel to do their jobs effectively and are required to use the most economical means available. Within the UK, staff on business need to travel between the Department of Health’s main offices in London and Leeds. They also regularly visit NHS locations and other health-related organisations." (Source: Daily Express, Aug/07)

More than 5,500 nurses who qualified this year cannot find jobs. Up to £187million has been wasted training the nurses, while NHS hospitals fill positions with cheaper healthcare assistants. The Royal College of Nursing discovered that nearly a third of the 17,824 nurses who graduated in the UK this year still haven't found work. Many are having to sign on the dole, or are considering looking overseas for jobs.

It costs the Government £34,000 to put a student through a three-year training degree but hospitals are saving cash by employing low-paid healthcare assistants instead. Widespread debt across NHS Trusts means there are also recruitment freezes in place. The RCN says some student nurses are applying for healthcare assistant jobs just to get their foot on the career ladder, only to find they are rejected for being over-qualified. (Source: Sunday Mirror, Aug/07)

Around £592million of NHS money has been paid out over mistakes as the compensation culture booms. Almost a third went directly into the pockets of lawyers involved in negligence claims in 2006 alone. Experts say increasing numbers of cases are being taken to court by "no win no fee" solicitors, who tout for business even in A&E waiting rooms. If they win, these lawyers ask the court for more in costs than legal aid would, to cover their risk.

In 2005/06, a total of £166million went on legal fees, for both defence and prosecution lawyers, up from £99million in 2001/02. The Department of Health figures also show there has been a steep rise in the payouts claimants receive. The total figure stands at £426million for 2005/06, up from £345million in 2002/03. Many of these claims are the result of serious surgical mistakes and accidents in hospital. For example, two patients a week leave hospital with surgical instruments still inside them.

Over the past three years, the NHS paid out £4.3million for 283 claims of lost implements including swabs, a catheter, a metal clip and a contraceptive coil. In total around 6,000 cases against the NHS go to court every year. A Health Department spokesman said, "The Government's policy is that it is right that NHS patients who are injured as a result of clinical negligence should be able to obtain correct and full compensation." (Source: Daily Mail, Jul/07)

Budgets for family doctors and other essential NHS treatments have been cut by £12million in order to buy methadone for heroin addicts in prison. The new programme represents a move away from trying to get prisoners off drugs to simply allowing them to continue their addiction at the taxpayers' expense. It is funded by taking money from NHS Primary Care Trusts which run GP surgeries, walk-in treatment centres and community health projects.

The Integrated Drug Treatment scheme, which is being tried out in 45 prisons, is likely to be expanded to jails all over the country. Seventeen prisons are currently running the full programme, prescribing the heroin substitute to wean inmates off the Class A drug and also giving them counselling but the remaining 28 jails distribute methadone without providing any psychological or psychiatric support.

Some prison experts have admitted that getting prisoners off drugs in jail may cause them to take fatal overdoses when they are released. They also fear a repeat of a recent case in which 200 heroin addicts behind bars were awarded £700,000 out-of-court compensation after accusing prison chiefs of forcing them to go through 'cold turkey' rather than giving them heroin substitutes to wean them off their addiction more slowly.

That case set a legal precedent, making prison governors reluctant to order any short-sharp-shock treatment programmes. The Department of Health confirmed Primary Care Trusts have put £12million into the scheme so far while the Home Office has given another £5million. In 2006, Hammersmith and Fulham Primary Care Trust in West London spent £125,786 on methadone for inmates at Wormwood Scrubs prison. The bill for 2008 is expected to be nearly £170,000. (Source: Daily Mail, Feb/07)

Britons visiting Poland are being threatened with deportation if they are taken ill and need hospital treatment while in the country. The warning comes from the Polish Government despite arrangements which mean the NHS will treat Poles free of charge if they fall sick in Britain. It follows claims from the British Medical Association that patients could be turned away from UK doctors' surgeries because they have been swamped by Eastern Europeans.

The Polish Government claims its deportation threat is legal and necessary to protect its citizens from infections from abroad. Polish Home Ministry spokesman Witold Liwicki said, "We have a right to protect our citizens. We're eliminating the threat of an epidemic." He claimed Italy, the Czech Republic and Slovakia had introduced similar legislation. The Polish authorities claim the new law is based on an EU directive which allows exceptions to the free movement of EU citizens, including cases where they represent a threat to public health. (Source: Mail on Sunday, Feb/07)

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