More NHS madness

[+ouija ouija]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2424980/Short-staffed-hospitals-forced-recruit-nurses-overseas-axing-5k-jobs.html

More madness!

NHS sacks 5,000 nursing staff 'to save money'. NHS discovers it hasn't got enough 'frontline' staff to deliver a (half)decent service. NHS sends managers abroad(cost?), to recruit foreign nurses ...... will they be able to pay them less? Surely there is a fixed level of pay for particular qualifications?

Just a few days ago I was reading a report about all that is recognised as being wrong with the NHS and needs to be fixed. Near the top of the list was the problem of hiring foreign staff because 1) often patients and other staff can't understand them, 2) often they can't express themselves accurately and they misunderstand local colloquialisms, 3) references and proof of qualifications are often not followed up, people are hired simply because they say they can do a particular job. I have personally witnessed/experienced points 1 &2 several times myself.

The staff who were sacked get agency nursing jobs if they can ....... the wages are quite a bit higher. I have also had experience of agency staff while I was a hospital patient. They are disliked by the permanent staff because they are paid more, and they spend all their time asking 'where do you keep such-and-such? Who should I ask about that? Will you come and look at this patient as you are more familiar with their situation than I am?', taking staff away from the jobs they are doing. It makes for a very bad atmosphere on the wards and it also means more mistakes are made. Plus, what is the point of sacking staff to save money and then hiring them back at a higher rate? *tears hair out*

[itsnotoutthere]

Something similar has happened in the M.O.D. (ministry of defense) where my wife worked up until two years ago.

Baisically they decided that huge cuts were needed in staff so they went about offering big redundancy packages (30 k plus) As a consequence staff were queing up round the block to leave. And the rule was that anyone that took the package to pay back the money if they went back within 3 years. 12 months later the M.O.D. (suddenly realizing they never had enough staff) start to employ the same staff again but as contractors on a much higher wage (paid for by us).

We could see this coming a mile off.

The trouble is that most governments only think in 5 year chunks i.e. a term of office.

Edited September 19, 2013 by itsnotoutthere

[spud the mackem]

Since Inland Revenue merged with H.M.Customs, Customs has been decimated with huge redundancies and early retirement pay offs,so there is now very few Officers except at big Airports, a lot of the work has been taken over by the Immigration Service and the Police,who haven't the staff to fully control all ports and airports,so I guess its a smugglers paradise.

[Aggie]

It's ridiculous that the government has cut the budget for the most important public service workers: nurses, policemen and teachers.

But nothing is done to retrieve tax money from Amazon, Boots, Starbucks, etc.

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

It's ridiculous that the government has cut the budget for the most important public service workers: nurses, policemen and teachers.

But nothing is done to retrieve tax money from Amazon, Boots, Starbucks, etc.

Amazon simply goes "meh, not paying" and goes on not paying.

[questionmark]

Amazon simply goes "meh, not paying" and goes on not paying.

After the last G20 agreement that will change fast, they better start to choose where they want to pay really fast or it could be expensive.

[stevewinn]

there is one solution and thats pay more taxes. because every time a government tries to tackle the problems people are up in arms and seeing how politicians are in the game of being re-elected they dare not do too much against the public outcry. so have we only ourselves to blame? i think we all agree savings could be made in government mainly cutting waste ect.. but when will a government take the bull by the horns and when they do will we support them? i doubt it.