In his regular blog for Caerphilly Observer South Wales East AM Lindsay Whittle gives his take on recent news.
NHS
The NHS is expected to be the big issue at next year’s Assembly elections.
Concerns have been raised about a range of issues, including waiting times for treatment in hospital and at the GP surgery.
I was in my doctor’s surgery for a check-up recently and noticed that there had been 300 missed appointments.
If this is replicated across the Caerphilly County Borough and the area covered by the rest of my south-east regional seat, there are likely to be many thousands of appointments missed.
While there may be a financial impact on the NHS, patients that don’t turn up for an appointment, whether in hospital or at the local surgery, are effectively delaying someone else’s treatment.
People need to take some responsibility and if they are unable to attend for whatever reason they should contact the surgery or hospital well in advance, if at all possible. This can give the GP or hospital a chance to allocate that time to another patient.
I also believe that hospitals and GPs could also help improve the situation by reminding patients by text or even a phone call that, for instance, their appointment is due the following day.
Text is widely used by many companies such as mobile phone or power companies to tell consumers that their latest monthly bill can be viewed. Even schools use texts to contact a group of parents, so it may provide an opportunity to reduce unnecessary missed appointments.
School reports
As an Assembly member, I receive a variety of correspondence.
One of the most pleasurable is reading details of the school inspection reports by Estyn.
The inspectors carry out regular checks on education standards and how the school operate generally, submitting recommendations for improvement which is important.
I have to say that the overwhelming majority I receive are positive and paint a picture of teachers, children and governors working together with the aim of delivering a quality education.
Well done to everyone concerned and keep up the good work.
“I was in my doctor’s surgery for a check-up recently and noticed that there had been 300 missed appointments” ?
They don’t advertise this information as a rule, not in the surgeries I’ve been to anyway….
And that is probably a small proportion compared to those that find it impossible to get an appointment in the first place…..
“Concerns have been raised about a range of issues, including waiting times for treatment in hospital and at the GP surgery.”
Invest in the NHS instead of making cuts, encourage more “English Speaking” doctors into our surgeries….
My 96 year old relative from Caerphilly had to wait over an hour for a doctor to visit, as he had to travel from Neville Hall ??? when he got there he could hardly speak English…..
She can hardly walk unaided and is partially blind, but they asked her to go to the surgery ???
I’ve never had an appointment myself where I’ve waited less than 30 mins PAST my appointment time….
I think I’ll stop there before I spoil my evening……