This weekend I was unfortunate enough to attend A&E.
At thinkpublic we often visit hospitals and work with patients and staff to design better services. It was interesting to experience the service as a patient rather than an observer, I found myself noticing a number things about key touchpoints. It reminded me of the importance to speak to service users and providers when designing any improvements.
The three main things I noticed were:
1: Arrival
I was playing football when I was injured so I didn’t have any cash on me, this meant that I had to park away from the hospital because of the pay and display car park. A particularly painful walk!
2: Reception
When I arrived at reception I was greeted by a very nice lady but felt slightly odd about some of the questions I was asked. For example, why did they need to know my profession? A simple explanation about some of the questions would have been useful.
3: Waiting
The waiting room had all of the sunday papers, I don’t know whether these had been brought in by patients during the day? It certainly made for a more pleasant wait.
The treatment I received was really high quality and I can’t thank the staff enough, it made me feel really proud of the NHS, It’s fantastic that you can walk in off the street and receive treatment like this for free.
Sep 10th, Sophie said:
Hello Paul, It is really good to know that people do appreciate the amazing service that the NHS provides. I am currently working in a hospital in Bangkok and have seen patients sent away without and medication to cure them as they simply do not have the means to pay. This is very difficult for all involved, the nurses, doctors and of course the patient. We all need to remember how lucky we are to have the NHS (even if sometimes you can not park that close!).
Sep 12th, Paul Thurston said:
That is really awful, it must be hard when faced with such life and death situations like that, especially given that the skills and technology are right there in front of them.
Yesterday the kings fund published a report recommending the NHS allows patients to pay or ‘top-up’ for drug treatments that the NHS can’t afford themselves. This raises some really tough questions about access to healthcare.
If this happens, I believe it will help create an environment where there is a clear economic divide in the care provided, with rich patients able to afford the drugs that poorer patients can’t.
On the other hand if I had a relative who needed treatment for something and couldn’t get it on the NHS then I would consider paying for them to access it.
Anna Dixon from the Kings Fund details the Kings fund’s position on these recommendations here:
Anna Dixon gives The King’s Fund position on top-ups from King's Fund on Vimeo.