Disappearing NHS beds
Of course it is desirable for people to be treated at home, and not in hospital; people naturally would prefer not to go into hospital if possible.
However, up and down the country GPs are being pleaded with not to send patients to hospital. In hospitals in Suffolk, beds have been cut by 20% over the past 10 years. This is why our local hospitals are more or less permanently on black alert, why such high bed capacity encourages viruses and bugs. Vomiting and diarrhoea bugs are commonplace and frankly many of my constituents are now scared to go into hospital. Community nurses tell me of patients discharged prematurely, who should still be in hospital. It is a nightmare for our nurses, doctors and ancillary workers.
We are an ageing population. Our NHS is now run by obsessive bureaucracy which tries to fulfil centralised targets. Our health outcomes compare poorly with many of our European counterparts.
Where has all the money gone? Certainly not into hospital beds, which are now chronically in short supply. And fantastically there are now more people managing and organising the NHS then there are beds. You couldn’t make it up.