NHS Direct seeks 111 withdrawal

[dipsydoodle]

A major provider of the NHS non-emergency telephone service in England is seeking to pull out of its contracts due to severe problems.

NHS Direct initially won 11 of the 46 regional contracts for the service, covering 34% of the population.

It has already pulled out of two services, but the remaining nine are now "financially unsustainable".

The whole NHS 111 service itself has been plagued with problems, including reports of patients facing long waits.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23465966

[intaglio]

1. NHS Direct is no longer any use

I speak from experience.

It is underfunded and understaffed. Phone calls are only dealt with as a priority if you believe that the symptoms are life threatening and you convince the poor bloody operator of that. Nurses, originally supposed to provide rapid first response, are so few that they can only call back within 1 to 4 hours.

It was a nice idea - it has failed and should be given a quiet burial.

Luckily, there are many walk-in emergency centres and GPs are far more available.

[non sociopath skin]

2. A harbinger of the future when Virgin Cancer, Serpico-Cardiac and Diabetes 'R' Us ...

... are pulling out of their contracts because the shareholders aren't satisfied.

O tempora. O mores. O fuck.

The Skin

[dipsydoodle]

3. They tender for the contracts in anticipation of £x profit

and then bail when x don't seem likely because the quality of service they subsequently realise they're expected to provide don't match the proper NHS managed / staffed original.

As far as I can make out Holland's national healthcare system is all provided privately by non profit providers - not sure how that works unless there is an element of profit they are not allowed to exceed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_the_Netherlands