“Stop-gap measures” and “a drop in the waiting list
ocean” that is how UNISON, the UK’s largest health
union, today described the first NHS patients travelling
to Lille for operations.
Karen Jennings, UNISON’s Head of Nursing, said:
“This must come as a welcome relief to these patients
who have no doubt waited a long time for their
treatment.
“But such moves are a drop in the ocean and do not
help the majority of people still on the waiting list. The
answer lies not in stop-gap measures,sticking plaster
solutions but in building up capacity at home – more
investment, more doctors and nurses, more beds in
better equipped, well run hospitals. In creating an NHS
that has the capacity to tackle not only existing waiting
lists, but has some to spare, in order to deal with blips
in demand like a Winter flu crisis.
“For many, being sent abroad for treatment when you
are frail and ill would be a frightening and disorientating
experience. Being in a strange country, without family
and friends to visit and cheer you up, can make a
hospital stay even more miserable and depressing. It
is not a recipe for a quick recovery.
“If more patients are going to be sent abroad for
operations it is vital that it is clear how they get access
to follow up services such as community nursing or
physiotherapy. The NHS will need to ensure that these
services have extra capacity to deal with additional
patients.”
