Jess’s Rule And The NHS
The NHS remains one of the finest examples of a cross between a white elephant and a sacred cow. Of course, it saves millions of lives and improves the quality of life of many in this country on an ongoing basis. In addition, it is one of the largest employers in the world, generously giving employment to people from all over the world, in this country.
Unfortunately, it is also an institution which has all the hallmarks of a gravy train, crammed full of state-backed in efficiencies. It would be wonderful to know how much of every Pound of taxpayer cash that goes into the NHS, how much is actually spent on care?
A Second Rate Service
If one is generous phone would say that the NHS is a second rate service at the first class cost. Although, really a third rate service at an eye watering cost feels like it would be more accurate. Of course after over 70 years no one wants to be the one who would say that the NHS rather like the naked emperor and has no clothes. But it is as naked as a jaybird, as the Americans might say.
The main problem is that when things go wrong as they do periodically, the most recent being Lucy Letby, there is no link made between the concept of the NHS and what has gone wrong. Indeed, there is a deliberate fog thrown over the proceedings at such times.
We are reminded of this again in today’s headlines where the concept of Jess’s Rule has been fielded. Apart from a young babies dying, it is difficult to think of a worse scenario than we have seen in the story of Jessica Bradley who died from cancer five years ago.
Three Strikes
She was someone who was turned away by the NHS twenty times before she died. The new rule is that GPs will be told to take a “three strikes and rethink approach” with the idea that a second opinions and extra checks will be added to every case, however benign it might actually appear to be. Unfortunately, this will not happen. GPs are overworked and overpaid, yes you read that right, something which is a deadly combination.
Of course, on those twenty occasions if there was any fee involved / Jessica was a private patient, it is unlikely that she would have escaped the healthcare net. Private doctors will always be more keen to ensure that a patient is either ill or not ill if only for the money. However, in the case of an NHS doctor, the more patients they have, the more work they have, and the less they are paid per patient. This is a flaw in the system. In fact, the flaw in the system is to assume that all doctors are saints, and not human.
Private Doctors
Of course private doctors are not saints either and things gonna go wrong in a different/over treatment way. But it is a problem with the NHS that Jess’s Rule may not necessarily solve. That said, if you read the headlines today all over the newspapers, it will be difficult to find either any criticism of a system that turned away a very ill patient 20 times, or there being any question of the concept of a National Health Service, not being something which is in the best interests of the people of this country.
Perhaps the worst aspect though is that given the way we are taxed by national insurance, it is impossible to opt out: one is automatically in the NHS and then if one has any spare cash left over can make alternative arrangements.
The Pandemic
It is also not a means tested system, and as we know from the statistics there is no real measure of success or incentive to improve instead the NHS is run by six figure managers who deliver a random walk between cost and outcome, many of who have no either proper medical background or proper business background. We saw this of course in the handling of the pandemic
Instead, the NHS remains not only a model of inefficiency, but also model of a belief in the power of throwing enough money at a problem in order to make it better. Ironically, in some situations less money forces efficiency and positive outcomes. Alas,we know this will never be the case with the NHS.
