Would GP’s Send Their Family To An NHS Hospital?
Date: 29/04/2013
According to an article in The Daily Telegraph (30th March 2013) a recent poll (of more than 1,000 doctors, nurses and practice managers working in GP surgeries) found that almost half do not believe their local hospitals are good enough to treat their own families. Just 54 per cent saying they would be happy for a member of their family to be treated there.
The findings, highlighting widespread dissatisfaction, are causing much consternation as planned reforms will hand NHS budgets to groups of GPs, who will in turn decide which hospital and community services to fund and also have the power to cull the ones which are substandard.
The government’s strategy appears to be that it will encourage competition between community medical centres leading to an overall improvement in services offered. The report did indicate however that frontline staff working in GP surgeries were confident about the quality of services at their own practice. In total, 77 per cent said they would be happy for relatives to be treated there.
The Daily Telegraph reports – senior doctors said the poll’s findings reflected “real concerns” about standards of hospital care at a time when the finances of the NHS are under increasing pressure as investment fails to keep up with an ageing population.
Dr Charles Alessi, a GP and chairman of the National Association of Primary Care, said: “The concerns about the quality of hospital services really stand out, and this is where the reforms should strengthen the levers for change and enable clinicians to improve the services on which their patients rely.”
If you are not happy with the service you are receiving from your GP or do not want to wait to see a consultant through the NHS then please ask your GP about Spencer Private Hospital.
We work with the NHS and offer NHS treatments. For more information on treatments and benefits visit http://www.spencerprivatehospitals.com/patients-and-visitors/nhs-treatments-choose-and-book/
Spencer Private Hospitals are both based on NHS sites in Ashford (William Harvey Hospital) and Margate (QEQM).
