Daily Mail's Scathing Indictment of NHS hospital trust for Watford General

"Managers of hospitals over the years have been increasingly recruited from outside the health service, and although their experience of running a supermarket chain might allow them to balance the books, it does not mean they have any insight into how a ward should be managed and patients best served. " ~Jo Brand, British comedian

   Yesterday's Daily Mail offers a scathing indictment of the NHS West Hertfordshire Trust which manages Watford General Hospital--one of three under its umbrella--the very hospital in which Les had his surgery. 800 cancer patients missed desperately needed appointments due to never being informed of them in the first place. Many thanks to fellow boater Mike Wall (NB Independence) for sending the link along via email.

   For Americans reading this, you need to know that over here the NHS appointment system functions as though we are all still living in the late 1800's when postal mail service was at its best as a thoroughly modern system of communication. British patients can call a surgery to get an appointment and the actual appointment information is often not arranged over the phone but sent in a letter through the mail, supposedly, as a follow up.
   When we were waiting for Les' appointments to come through last August for his scans and endoscopy, we received nothing from the NHS to tell us the appointments had been booked. No one called, either because over here no one really has to take any responsibility or culpability, or because someone assumes some other department has dealt with the appointment and the buck is endlessly passed on elsewhere. Les had to call all over hell's half acre to find out if the tests had been booked, where they were booked, and when. One letter did manage to find its way to our address--the afternoon of the day the appointment was scheduled!
   Last November after Les came home and was finally in full recovery mode he received a phone call from a woman who informed him he had an appointment for surgical pre-op booked for the following week. After a prolonged conversation in which Les explained he wasn't scheduled to have any surgery just yet, having just had surgery in October, the woman double checked Les' name, National Health Number and mailing address were the same as what she had in front of her, but basically shrugged her shoulders and said, "Oh well, I'll see what I can find out and hung up. Nothing ever came of that and Les was calling hell's half acre a second time to get to the bottom of the next NHS appointment debacle.
   Les explained to me that the young woman couldn't tell him anything about who booked the pre-op or anything else as she was just a clerk hired to make phone calls from a list!! A bloody telemarketer would have known more let me tell you! I was shocked by this.
   Why--WHY would a system which governs the life and death of patients have someone with absolutely zero connections to the referring physician or department make appointments for something as crucial as surgery scheduling or pre-op appointments? Perhaps because the actual receptionists for said doctors and departments are so bloody busy faffing about with printing out appointment letters that are overdue and seeing them off in the mail.
   I've never been treated so rudely in my life or dismissed so casually in the States as I have here by receptionists at my primary doctor's office, the Oncologists office, or the surgeon's office. Bad manners and an impatient attitude seem to be a per-requisite for being hired by the NHS as a medical receptionist--and I use the term "medical" loosely.
   Les did find out the Urology department supposedly scheduled this pre-op appointment. He called the Watford General Hospital Dept. of Urology and a bloke picked up the phone, commencing fifteen minutes of the strangest medical conversation. Les explained the crux of the issue which was that while he was informed he may need urology surgery for an enlarged prostate, he wasn't in the pipeline for surgery yet--he had an appointment for flow tests and other exams first to determine if surgery was indeed the best route AND he also explained he was recovering from rectal cancer surgery complicated by sepsis, and still had an abdominal catheter in place over a month after surgery which he wanted removed. 
   The bloke on the other end of the line told Les a urinary catheter should only be left in place for five days! Les asked the man if he was a urologist. 
   "No mate, I was waiting here to use the phone and it rang so I picked it up!" Really???? REALLY???!!!!! I kid you not; some days I feel like I've been sucked into the vortex of an alternate reality and come out the other end ass over teakettle landing on my head.
   Stateside one calls the doctor's office and asks for an appointment. The receptionist tells you which days/times are available. You choose one that works with your schedule. She pencils you in, and you are good to go. She will handle all the insurance forms, payment issues, etc.
  Some offices will send a reminder email or text. Some will call you the day before, but most assume you are a responsible adult with an urgent desire to see the doctor therefore you will turn up on time. If not, you will charged for the appointment anyway. ($75.00 for 15 minutes of a primary care physician's time--a whole lot more $$$ for a specialist's time).
   If your doctor determines tests are needed, referrals are required to specialists, or you need hospitalization, usually your primary care doctor's staff set these up for you with the next party in the chain and call you to let you know the appointment time and date. Otherwise you are given the pertinent contact information and asked to book those appointments directly.  Amazingly this system works successfully for millions of American patients.
   The amount of British taxpayer money paid to the mis-managers of the NHS is appalling. This article in the Daily Mail underscores our recent bad experiences and it makes me sad. British patients suffer terribly under the appalling lack of care and concern shown by the NHS and its minions. Good care and excellent customer service should not be the exception--it should be the norm.