BS: Support Nurse Margaret Haywood

Subject: RE: BS: Support Nurse Margaret Haywood
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 12 Oct 09 - 04:01 PM

Well, the RCN should be hanging their heads in shame about this. They should have taken to the streets over it, and told people the names of those who are responsible...

It's as if we, as a Nation, have been mentally beaten into submission by The Invisible Them....

This is not what my Dad went to war for..and the sooner we all get damn angry about the terrible injustices that are happening, the better we'll all be!

I was reading an article by a Varicos Vein specialist today, from last year, where he was saying how corrupt it is that the NHS no longer treats this particular problem, when it causes such distress to so many. They stopped it because of the money, and for no other reason, without any thought for the patients, yet again....

And this is another example. An example of a Good Spirit standing up for her patients, because she cared for them and was horrified at what was going on and everyone else has made her climb down and accept total shit.

It's shaming.

It's shamaing to the Royal College of Nursing, it's shaming to the NHS and it's shaming to the lawyers who refused to put aside their gross fees and stand up for this woman and what she was saying.

One day, they'll be old too...and I can only hope that the Bastards & Bitches involved in all of this are similarly treated in the way those patients were, because ONLY then will these selfish prats realise what Margaret was trying to do...and that was to speak for those without a voice, to protect those who were under attack from lack of care.

The absolute pigs who are bringing down the NHS, and they ARE, should be shot up to the moon in the next 'water rocket' and blasted into the Dark Side of it, where we will never be troubled by them and their sort ever again..

Subject: RE: BS: Support Nurse Margaret Haywood
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 12 Oct 09 - 06:36 PM

Varicose veins are not usually deadly.

Subject: RE: BS: Support Nurse Margaret Haywood
From: Emma B
Date: 12 Oct 09 - 07:01 PM

(Emma loves it when I get it arse over whatsit, so don't worry, Richard!) ;0) LOL

sure do lizzie!

Now about this varicose veins policy......

I have read the Daily Mail article Why won't the NHS treat varicose veins any more?
from last year

But!

I've also read The NHS policy on this issue which states quite simply

'The NHS will not pay for surgery for cosmetic reasons alone'

For further information on the full range of treatment that is available on the NHS check their web site
here

Subject: RE: BS: Support Nurse Margaret Haywood
From: Tug the Cox
Date: 12 Oct 09 - 08:14 PM

Both my parents had varicose veins removed in the 50's ( remember, when we had a National Health Service) In my Mum's case the benefits were certainly far more than cosmetic. The condition doesn't seem to be so common nowadays, otherwise I'm sure there'd be a greater outcry.

Subject: RE: BS: Support Nurse Margaret Haywood
From: Emma B
Date: 12 Oct 09 - 09:02 PM

Varicose veins are common in people over the age of 50 -- according to some studies almost 50% of people in this age group have varicose veins in one form or another.

Like many medical conditions, aging and normal wear and tear on the body is a major factor, and there is not much you can do about getting older.
So over the age of 50, it may just be necessary to have to face the facts that varicose veins might begin to appear as your veins stretch and lose elasticity.

In many cases, varicose veins are purely a cosmetic issue

They often cause few signs or symptoms. If signs and symptoms are minor, a doctor may suggest simply making lifestyle changes or prescribe compression stockings

Modern medicine has brought new treatments other than surgery but even this procedure does not promise the lifelong disappearance of varicose veins. It removes only existing veins and does nothing to prevent other veins from causing future problems

Even in America, where insurance can cover some elective surgery, patients are usually advised that varicose veins will probaly NOT be covered by insurance when, as in most cases, it is strictly a cosmetic issue.

Both in America AND under the NHS medically necessary procedures are treated by a number of methods that may well not involve surgery.

Subject: RE: BS: Support Nurse Margaret Haywood
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 13 Oct 09 - 04:00 AM

Emma, I've no hang up with the Daily Mail or any other papers, so long as they report the truth....I've never judged people by the papers they read, as so many seem to on here...Weird hang up that one...

If you read that article, which I happened to find 'out of the blue' by the way....you'll see the surgeon's story...

Varicose Veins Surgery

And from that article...

"Routine operations for complaints such as varicose veins are being cut back to save the NHS money, leaving patients having to put up with the agonising condition or pay for expensive private treatment. It's just privatisation by stealth, says Eddie Chaloner, a consultant vascular surgeon at Lewisham Hospital — and once again, it's the patient who suffers.

Every week we hear yet more stories about the rationing of life-saving drugs for diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's.

But these are just the tip of the iceberg: there are also thousands of patients missing
out on the surgery they need, thanks to the stealthy rationing of such treatment.

And what makes this even more unacceptable is that Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) seem to be trying to cover it up.

My speciality is varicose veins — admittedly, these are not life-threatening, but they're
still a debilitating, chronic and often extremely painful condition.

And yet many GPs are being told not to refer patients for treatment. Even more worrying, PCTs are also telling me to 'bounce' back referral letters to the GP — in other words, I'm being told to refuse to see patients.
Of course I don't bounce back these patients. But even if I do see them, only when a patient has signs of severe skin damage or a leg ulcer will a PCT sanction surgery.

The people most often affected by the condition have jobs that involve a lot of standing — policemen, schoolteachers, hairdressers and cleaners.
Their condition has a huge impact on their everyday working lives, causing them severe discomfort from the relentless aching and throbbing of their legs.

And yet I'm being told to send them home with nothing more than a packet of compression stockings —that's because PCTs define surgery as any kind of treatment, from traditional, open surgery to lasers and injections.

No wonder I have witnessed a 70 per cent drop in patients having surgery in the past 18 months.

The fact is that compression stockings are an unsustainable short-term fix since they're impossible for an active person to wear for any length of time.

The irony is that varicose veins are eminently treatable.

The NHS is taking another furtive step towards privatisation, says consultant vascular surgeon Eddie Chaloner
Patients prepared to put up a fight for surgery can have their case considered by an exceptional treatment panel — but all 25 patient application forms I have submitted in the past 18 months have been rejected.

By arbitrarily taking operations off the menu, the NHS is simply taking another furtive step towards privatisation.

The only option for patients is to wait until their legs are bad enough to be considered for surgery (around a third will — by which time they will be in severe discomfort).

Alternatively, they can find the £2,500 or more to have the operation privately.

It's not just surgery for varicose veins that's being restricted — uncomplicated hernias are another.
What infuriates me is that the health economists responsible for this policy hide behind those at the coal face of clinical care; they expect us to break the bad news to the patient.

To ration treatment and tie a surgeon's hands at a time when medical science can offer successful solutions is hard enough for a GP to swallow.

But forcing patients to put up with their condition is yet another hammer blow to a health service that once promised so much and now, thanks to NHS bureaucrats."


Apologies for the slight thread drift here, Richard.


Emma, Gareth Rees, for whom I used to work, once the Head Cardiothoracis Surgeon at Bart's Hospital, had to threaten to resign after the Cheshire Cats wanted to put dental patients in with his post-op heart surgery patients. He tried to tell them about the HUGE risk of cross-infection this would cause, but they refused to listen.
So, he wrote out his resignation, handed it in, then came over to me, in his private rooms in Upper Wimpole Street, and cried.

Do you know why he cried?

He cried because every single day he was now having to fight a battle with bloody 'managers' and accountants, and other people too who had NOTHING to do with the medical side of the NHS. They made these appalling decisions AGAINST the advice and desperate pleas of the Doctors, Surgeons and Nurses themselves, because ALL they were/are interested in is ticking their bloody tick boxes about saving costs...

Of course, they refused his resignation, having had more shite put up them by Gareth's colleague, Dr. Roworth Spurrell, the Chief Cardiologist of Bart's also threatening to resign if this crazy idea went ahead. Gareth and Roworth worked together in the NHS and in the Private sector too, where I worked for them both.

Doctors and Nurses have to be pushed beyond their limits before they go to the press. Hell, that is NOT why they go to work each day! They go to work to make people's lives better. They do go to work to SAVE people's live, remove the pain, and if they can't...then they help them to die with dignity.

Margaret blew the whistle on some terrible things that were going on, because she CARED about her patients and she was horrified at what was happening. This morning, on the BBC she has said how fast those things were put right after she went to the Panorama programme.....yet she has been treated in a disgusting manner!

She has been villified by people 'at the top' who have put her through a terrible, stressful time and tried to damage her 25 year career, a career which has been totally unblemished throughout all that time, because this woman is a natural nurse, one who lives and breathes for her patients...

The NHS is about caring for patients, first and foremost. And once, most decisions within it were made by the Matron and the rest of her team, the majority of whom were all from the medical side.

And if you read that article, you'll see that surgeon is complaining that the NHS will now ONLY treat varicose veins when they have become a very severe problem, where once, they prevented those problems from occuring because prompt action was taken.

It was done to save money. Nowt else. It was not done with the patients interest at heart, and the 'cosmetic' reason is a total red herring, put there to try and make people feel that they are vain about their veins, rather than address a very common problem which affects so many. If it did not affect so many people, the bean counters would have left that part of the NHS remain, but by convincing people that most varicose vein operations are for vanity, they created a situation where people backed down.....

Just like with Vi's bath handles....."Well, you can buy them yourself, dear"

Just like with bathing patients at home...."Well, you can pay for that yourself, dear"

And meanwhile, most of the NHS staff are letting it happen, becausse they are too damned worn out with caring to stand up and take action against these bloody bullies who are ruining our once wonderful health care 'caring' system, which is now becoming more and more streamlined, more and more narrowed...

If the Daily Mail, or anyone else is prepared to blow the whistle on that, as Margaret has done, then bloody good on them for doing so!

This is NOT about the Daily Mail, Emma, one of your pet hates, but it IS about strong people standing up and saying "this is WRONG!"...and doing so knowing that they are, these days, putting their jobs and reputations at risk, because all that can be done, will be done, to undermine such brave people.

Ask yourself why?

Subject: RE: BS: Support Nurse Margaret Haywood
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 13 Oct 09 - 08:22 PM

I just don't trust the Daily Mail as a reliable source of information. It's not a matter of politics as such - I would trust Daily Telegraph on matters of fact.

Subject: RE: BS: Support Nurse Margaret Haywood
From: Folkiedave
Date: 14 Oct 09 - 11:28 AM

Newspapers don't present facts - they present a selection of facts. Not the same thing