saint_stevo Posted 19 May, 2009 Share Posted 19 May, 2009 Is it possible? How strong a case/life threatening would the case need to be? December 08- Injure Knee playing football, go to hospital, told it is twisted/strained and i will be fine in 6-8 weeks March 08- Go to doctors, knee still ruined and gives way at random times. It got progressively better from Xmas onwards then went down hill...fast. Referred to Hospital April 09- Go to hospital, sent for MRI April 09- MRI Scan May 09- Back to hospital, told MRI shows a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament and i will need surgery, possibly involving removing parts of my hamstring to rebuild the ligament. So 6 months of pain having seem some useless idiot when i first went to A+E. What ya think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baj Posted 19 May, 2009 Share Posted 19 May, 2009 No claim whatsoever, they could equally say that the further damage was done by you not taking it easy after you twisted it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridge too far Posted 19 May, 2009 Share Posted 19 May, 2009 Every NHS Trust has a Complaints department. Write to the Chief Executive and it will get forwarded to the right person. It used to be the case that they had to respond to you within 14 days, but I don't know if that's still true. Have a look here: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HealthAndWellBeing/HealthServices/PractitionersAndServices/DG_10036902 towards the bottom of the page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjii Posted 19 May, 2009 Share Posted 19 May, 2009 You can sue the NHS for negligence (or more specifically, you will sue whichever trust operates the hospital you attended I expect). You will need to show they were negligent though. Solicitors can advise on the merits of your claim. You will not get a more useful answer than that on here. HTH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypochondriac Posted 19 May, 2009 Share Posted 19 May, 2009 You can sue the NHS for negligence (or more specifically, you will sue whichever trust operates the hospital you attended I expect). You will need to show they were negligent though. Solicitors can advise on the merits of your claim. You will not get a more useful answer than that on here. HTH. I think BTF's post was more useful. HTH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Block 18 Posted 19 May, 2009 Share Posted 19 May, 2009 Is it possible? How strong a case/life threatening would the case need to be? December 08- Injure Knee playing football, go to hospital, told it is twisted/strained and i will be fine in 6-8 weeks March 08- Go to doctors, knee still ruined and gives way at random times. It got progressively better from Xmas onwards then went down hill...fast. Referred to Hospital April 09- Go to hospital, sent for MRI April 09- MRI Scan May 09- Back to hospital, told MRI shows a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament and i will need surgery, possibly involving removing parts of my hamstring to rebuild the ligament. So 6 months of pain having seem some useless idiot when i first went to A+E. What ya think? Try suing you boot manufacturer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint_stevo Posted 19 May, 2009 Author Share Posted 19 May, 2009 No claim whatsoever, they could equally say that the further damage was done by you not taking it easy after you twisted it. I wasn't even given crutches and was told to walk on it as much as possible..... Try suing you boot manufacturer I fully agree that blades were at least 75% responsible. Stevegrant was the other 25% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridge too far Posted 19 May, 2009 Share Posted 19 May, 2009 I wasn't even given crutches and was told to walk on it as much as possible..... I fully agree that blades were at least 75% responsible. Stevegrant was the other 25% Try suing Steve Grant then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesus Reigned Posted 19 May, 2009 Share Posted 19 May, 2009 Try suing Steve Grant then Man of straw? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prideofthesouth Posted 19 May, 2009 Share Posted 19 May, 2009 Similar thing happened to me. First got anti-imflammatory tablets to take the swelling in my knee downin March. Knee got no better, had MRI scan in July and operation in December. You have no case really as maybe you should have gone to the hospital in the first place, your GP is not going to be an expert on sports injuries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint_stevo Posted 19 May, 2009 Author Share Posted 19 May, 2009 Similar thing happened to me. First got anti-imflammatory tablets to take the swelling in my knee downin March. Knee got no better, had MRI scan in July and operation in December. You have no case really as maybe you should have gone to the hospital in the first place, your GP is not going to be an expert on sports injuries. I went to A+E the day it happened! What Op you have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisPY Posted 19 May, 2009 Share Posted 19 May, 2009 No claim. Medical negligence is not usually a crime (there are obviously exceptions) as it is usually a mis-diagnosis, not due to negligence on behalf of the doctor but due to their proffessional opinions of a situation (injury) being wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dark Sotonic Mills Posted 19 May, 2009 Share Posted 19 May, 2009 How about this one then. Elderly lady, aged 80, with Osteoporosis has suffered a closed head injury by being thrown off a bus seat due to driver error in braking too hard after not seeing a car in front of the bus. Experiencing severe neck pain after a whiplash injury to the neck as her head hit the floor. Taken to A+E by ambulance and seen by the Consultant. What is the response at A+E? 1) She is X-Rayed as she had 3 mitigating factors (age, bone density and recent trauma to neck and head) 2) She has a scan via CT or MRI to see if the is bone and/or deep soft tissue damage 3) She is sent home without examination, given a booklet of neck exercises to do and told to contact her GP if she needs painkillers Any guesses? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint_stevo Posted 19 May, 2009 Author Share Posted 19 May, 2009 No claim. Medical negligence is not usually a crime (there are obviously exceptions) as it is usually a mis-diagnosis, not due to negligence on behalf of the doctor but due to their proffessional opinions of a situation (injury) being wrong. Makes sense i suppose, doesnt help me though How about this one then. Elderly lady, aged 80, with Osteoporosis has suffered a closed head injury by being thrown off a bus seat due to driver error in braking too hard after not seeing a car in front of the bus. Experiencing severe neck pain after a whiplash injury to the neck as her head hit the floor. Taken to A+E by ambulance and seen by the Consultant. What is the response at A+E? 1) She is X-Rayed as she had 3 mitigating factors (age, bone density and recent trauma to neck and head) 2) She has a scan via CT or MRI to see if the is bone and/or deep soft tissue damage 3) She is sent home without examination, given a booklet of neck exercises to do and told to contact her GP if she needs painkillers Any guesses? I shall take a stab at c The outcome is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dark Sotonic Mills Posted 19 May, 2009 Share Posted 19 May, 2009 She had a fracture of C1/C2, otherwise known as the Hangman's Fracture. 'c' was the outcome, she was sent home but, luckily, was in so much pain that she couldn't do the exercises which would have killed her. She is my mother and, despite the best efforts of the Royal County Hospital A+E department, is still alive. http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/search/3763409.Gran_breaks_neck_falling_from_bus_seat/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smirking_Saint Posted 19 May, 2009 Share Posted 19 May, 2009 (edited) Is it possible? How strong a case/life threatening would the case need to be? December 08- Injure Knee playing football, go to hospital, told it is twisted/strained and i will be fine in 6-8 weeks March 08- Go to doctors, knee still ruined and gives way at random times. It got progressively better from Xmas onwards then went down hill...fast. Referred to Hospital April 09- Go to hospital, sent for MRI April 09- MRI Scan May 09- Back to hospital, told MRI shows a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament and i will need surgery, possibly involving removing parts of my hamstring to rebuild the ligament. So 6 months of pain having seem some useless idiot when i first went to A+E. What ya think? Sod all, Same thing happened to me mate. But unfortunately i tried playing football after the alotted 8 weeks and.... epic fail (fat - ronaldoesque) Was then told to wait a further 8 weeks and should be ok, waited 3 months instead and paid for a sports physiotherapist. After gym work (and to be fair it responded ok to that) the knee was stronger and the physio said i should be ok. So... after 30 mins... i was on my ass again. Then went back AGAIN to A+E got the same ****e run around, went to GP who tried to fob it off again, told him i want an appointment with consultant. Thought it would all be ok... Wrong !! As per usual didn't see consultant but his understudy that also said it was fine, luckily took a second opinion, who said i should never have been told to play on it, and i was luckily not to cause massive problems with my cartialage which would have had repercussions in the future. But after the Op, all was fine, been playing for 2 seasons. (although make sure you get fully fit as i just strained my medial ligaments in same knee which as you could imagine panicked me senseless) My opinion, don't trust NHS, sorry for the story. BTW mate, it was the hamstring tendon one, and it was fine, just make sure you get a good surgeon. Edited 19 May, 2009 by Smirking_Saint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prideofthesouth Posted 20 May, 2009 Share Posted 20 May, 2009 I went to A+E the day it happened! What Op you have? Just some key hole surgery to take some torn cartilage out, still hurts now 6 months on! :mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Give it to Ron Posted 21 May, 2009 Share Posted 21 May, 2009 Just some key hole surgery to take some torn cartilage out, still hurts now 6 months on! :mad: Yep thats what started with me....4 arthroscopies later finally just having bone on bone for the last 8 years have just had a uni-compartmental knee replacement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cambsaint Posted 22 May, 2009 Share Posted 22 May, 2009 The only way to provide a certain diagnosis would to be MRI scan or arthroscopy every injury. It doesn't seem unreasonable to make a provisional diagnosis and later carry out tests which correctly diagnose the problem and treat you satisfactorily. Do you not think that playing football was the cause of your injury, pain and discomfort; not the mis-diagnosis which was probably made in good faith on the basis of the available facts. IMO you are bloody lucky to have had such treatment at no cost on the NHS for a football injury. Never forget that such advances in treatment are comparatively recent and only a few years ago it wasn't uncommon for such injuries to cause pain for life-as in the case of my father. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nellie Posted 22 May, 2009 Share Posted 22 May, 2009 The only way to provide a certain diagnosis would to be MRI scan or arthroscopy every injury. It doesn't seem unreasonable to make a provisional diagnosis and later carry out tests which correctly diagnose the problem and treat you satisfactorily. Do you not think that playing football was the cause of your injury, pain and discomfort; not the mis-diagnosis which was probably made in good faith on the basis of the available facts. IMO you are bloody lucky to have had such treatment at no cost on the NHS for a football injury. Never forget that such advances in treatment are comparatively recent and only a few years ago it wasn't uncommon for such injuries to cause pain for life-as in the case of my father. Although I agree with everything else that you have said, why should someone be lucky to be treated at no cost, on the NHS, for a sports related injury? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smirking_Saint Posted 22 May, 2009 Share Posted 22 May, 2009 The only way to provide a certain diagnosis would to be MRI scan or arthroscopy every injury. It doesn't seem unreasonable to make a provisional diagnosis and later carry out tests which correctly diagnose the problem and treat you satisfactorily. Do you not think that playing football was the cause of your injury, pain and discomfort; not the mis-diagnosis which was probably made in good faith on the basis of the available facts. IMO you are bloody lucky to have had such treatment at no cost on the NHS for a football injury. Never forget that such advances in treatment are comparatively recent and only a few years ago it wasn't uncommon for such injuries to cause pain for life-as in the case of my father. I agree with the fact that these sorts of injuries are taken due to the episode of injury (mainly) and are not at first easily to diagnose. However, i had all the classic symptoms, swelling, instability and a twisting episode on my knee. It took the knee collapsing three times, i saw the GP and two consultants, only one of which performed the Lachman's test which showed just how loose my knee was. It's not rocket science, IMO it was grossly mis-diagnosed. Also if the knee keeps collapsing there is obviously something wrong, in Stevo's case i would not expect them to scan it straight away but not refering to hospital is just as bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint_stevo Posted 22 May, 2009 Author Share Posted 22 May, 2009 The only way to provide a certain diagnosis would to be MRI scan or arthroscopy every injury. It doesn't seem unreasonable to make a provisional diagnosis and later carry out tests which correctly diagnose the problem and treat you satisfactorily. Do you not think that playing football was the cause of your injury, pain and discomfort; not the mis-diagnosis which was probably made in good faith on the basis of the available facts. IMO you are bloody lucky to have had such treatment at no cost on the NHS for a football injury. Never forget that such advances in treatment are comparatively recent and only a few years ago it wasn't uncommon for such injuries to cause pain for life-as in the case of my father. No not at all, it was an accident and causing me grief, no matter how i did it i expect the best possible treatment. A provisional diagnosis of, it will be fine in 6-8 weeks you dont need physio or any crutches is rubbish for a consultant that gets paid god knows how much. 6 months later and still cant walk properly or go an hour without some pain shows that the bloke didn't do his job properly. End of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scudamore Posted 22 May, 2009 Share Posted 22 May, 2009 Yeah...good luck with that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint_stevo Posted 22 May, 2009 Author Share Posted 22 May, 2009 Yeah...good luck with that... My solicitor is working on it:smt117 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint in Paradise Posted 23 May, 2009 Share Posted 23 May, 2009 A man is recovering from surgery when a nurse appears and asks him how he is feeling. 'I'm O. K. I think but I didn't like the four letter-words the doctor used in surgery,' he answered. 'What did he say,' asked the nurse. 'Oops!' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridge too far Posted 23 May, 2009 Share Posted 23 May, 2009 No not at all, it was an accident and causing me grief, no matter how i did it i expect the best possible treatment. A provisional diagnosis of, it will be fine in 6-8 weeks you dont need physio or any crutches is rubbish for a consultant that gets paid god knows how much. 6 months later and still cant walk properly or go an hour without some pain shows that the bloke didn't do his job properly. End of. I still get pain in my knee 10 years after rupturing my medial ligament and tearing the ACL in a skiing accident. Most injuries have long lasting pain / discomfort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4737_carlin Posted 24 May, 2009 Share Posted 24 May, 2009 Not really sure there is a claim there to be honest as like another poster says it could of happened anytime between now and visiting the hospital. One things for sure expect to wait a very very longtime to have the operation. Im talking 8 months+ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lee_saint Posted 24 May, 2009 Share Posted 24 May, 2009 Not really sure there is a claim there to be honest as like another poster says it could of happened anytime between now and visiting the hospital. One things for sure expect to wait a very very longtime to have the operation. Im talking 8 months+ Likewise, I was told I needed a small operation in Jan, still haven't had anything through, may look at going private. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sotonswan Posted 24 May, 2009 Share Posted 24 May, 2009 Likewise, I was told I needed a small operation in Jan, still haven't had anything through, may look at going private. It's not cheap, as you might expect. Here are some rough figures for fees paid by my insurance company for a recent arthroscopy & split cartillage clean-up in Southampton: initial consultation - 20 mins @ Spire - £150 MRI scan - 1 hour @ Spire - £470 post scan consultation - 10 mins @ spire - £75 surgeon - 30-60 mins @ nuffield - £700 anaesthetist - 30-60 mins @ nuffield - £340 nuffield hospital 30-60 mins theatre & room for 6 hours - £1800 post op consultation - 10 mins @ Spire - est £75 For that you do get to pretty much choose when you want things done (depending on what days the surgeon is available), you get to see the guy who operates on you from day one, you get to keep your MRI scans and an 8 minute DVD of the highlights of the surgery (from the camera in your knee) with commentary. And everyone is jolly nice. Although at £600-£700 an hour I could probably be most congenial as well. Glad I wasn't paying for it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dog Posted 24 May, 2009 Share Posted 24 May, 2009 Anyone who tries to sue the NHS is a low life scumbag and should never ever receive any treatment in the future. Blacklisted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marky-G Posted 2 June, 2009 Share Posted 2 June, 2009 My partner works for a local, Southampton based firm of solicitors in the clinical negligence department and she has said the following: At the end of the day, if the hospital had x-rayed the knee on attendance at A&E, the problem would have been discovered at that point - which is likely to be called negligent. If the result is likely to have been the same, i.e. you would still have to have surgery to fix the problem then there is no real financial value to the claim. You have had pain and suffering for an additional 6 months but this wouldn't be worth a particularly large amount, probably only £1,000 or so. If surgery wouldn't have been necessary if it had been diagnosed at the time of your attendance (i.e. it just put in a cast) then this is a claim worth something because you've had to have unnecessary surgery. With regard to the lady with the broken neck - sue them!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint_stevo Posted 2 June, 2009 Author Share Posted 2 June, 2009 NHS have now put me thru a private hospital in Salisbury, the operation has to be completed within 14weeks, so not too bad Oh and thanks Marky G, £1000 would be ideal! If i got in contact with her, would she run with it for me as in take me on as a client? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marky-G Posted 2 June, 2009 Share Posted 2 June, 2009 She works for Moore Blatch in Southampton. Please call 023 80718197 - this number goes through to the clinical negligence department and the secretary will take some details and get a solicitor to call you back to discuss the potential claim in more detail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70's Mike Posted 2 June, 2009 Share Posted 2 June, 2009 sueing the nhs , who have no income of their own means you are sueing every taxpayer. whilst you may feel aggrieved every penny you get or they spend defending your case comes out of everyones pocket and ultimately effects the level of treatment i get for my leukaemia. difficult decision for you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint_stevo Posted 2 June, 2009 Author Share Posted 2 June, 2009 wow quite the guilt trip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marky-G Posted 2 June, 2009 Share Posted 2 June, 2009 The NHS, like most "big" companies, have insurance - it is insurance that pays out when errors have been made, not taxpayers!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamster Posted 2 June, 2009 Share Posted 2 June, 2009 sueing the nhs , who have no income of their own means you are sueing every taxpayer. whilst you may feel aggrieved every penny you get or they spend defending your case comes out of everyones pocket and ultimately effects the level of treatment i get for my leukaemia. difficult decision for you TBF Mike, they will probably claw it back from car park charges or upping BK's rent. At the end of the day if it is their negligence I think ss should claim for his 'loss and suffering'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70's Mike Posted 3 June, 2009 Share Posted 3 June, 2009 TBF Mike, they will probably claw it back from car park charges or upping BK's rent. At the end of the day if it is their negligence I think ss should claim for his 'loss and suffering'. AGREED but the car park charges go to buy lower management big cars. i actually do believe SS should get what he can, i fought the NHS 8 years ago for a drug from the states which keeps me a live , was plastered all over the front page of echo and evening news, ss should get some publicity and if he has a case they will cave in. All i was pointing out is the fact that the nhs has no money of its own Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridge too far Posted 3 June, 2009 Share Posted 3 June, 2009 Can I clarify the car parking thing as there's a lot of misconception about car parking at hospitals. I can only talk from the following perspective. I managed car parking initially at a hospital in Buckinghamshire (before the PFI merchants took over) and I used to use QA hospital car parking quite regularly when I took my mother there. Hospitals have to charge for parking, particularly when the hospitals are in town centres. If they didn't, commuters and shoppers would park there because it was free and there'd be no room left for patients and visitors. Charges go directly to pay for the management and upkeep of the car parks. If the car parks were not maintained, they'd become unsafe (leading to claims for negligence and injury). Most hospitals have schemes whereby visitors to long-term patients can apply for free or heavily discounted parking. This certainly happened at Winchester when my father was there for 6 months after a stroke. At my local hospital, for example, fathers-to-be get free parking. Any excess income from car parking is used for things that aren't funded by the normal budget. This could be buying a piece of kit that the budget won't run to, for example. NHS senior managers' cars (allowances BTW) come out of the normal budgets, Mike, and there are strict criteria applied depending on the level of management. And of course it's a taxable benefit so money goes back to the state. It's the consultants who tend to have the big cars rather than the managers. I was a fairly senior manager and I only ever got travel expenses between sites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Give it to Ron Posted 3 June, 2009 Share Posted 3 June, 2009 Hospitals have to charge for parking, particularly when the hospitals are in town centres. If they didn't, commuters and shoppers would park there because it was free and there'd be no room left for patients and visitors. . Since when has the Soton General been in the town centre yet charges astronomicallly for visitors and out patients! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special K Posted 3 June, 2009 Share Posted 3 June, 2009 Is it possible? How strong a case/life threatening would the case need to be? December 08- Injure Knee playing football, go to hospital, told it is twisted/strained and i will be fine in 6-8 weeks March 08- Go to doctors, knee still ruined and gives way at random times. It got progressively better from Xmas onwards then went down hill...fast. Referred to Hospital April 09- Go to hospital, sent for MRI April 09- MRI Scan May 09- Back to hospital, told MRI shows a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament and i will need surgery, possibly involving removing parts of my hamstring to rebuild the ligament. So 6 months of pain having seem some useless idiot when i first went to A+E. What ya think? Firstly, I think you should have had insurance against getting injured whilst playing football. Also, the assumption is that the first diagnosis is the one that should be complete and correct. I don't agree with this. The likelihood was that you had just sprained your knee and the advice given sounds like it could be considered reasonable. Of course it is also dependant upon information given to the nhs staff as well. It sounds like you were referred when your condition deteriorated after seeming to get better. Maybe playing on it some more in the intervening time caused more damage? I hope your knee gets better and you can resume playing football, but should this not be the aim instead of adding to an already overburdened system full of chancers and shysters who do dilute and prolongate the whole process for genuine claimants? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint_stevo Posted 3 June, 2009 Author Share Posted 3 June, 2009 Firstly, I think you should have had insurance against getting injured whilst playing football. Also, the assumption is that the first diagnosis is the one that should be complete and correct. I don't agree with this. The likelihood was that you had just sprained your knee and the advice given sounds like it could be considered reasonable. Of course it is also dependant upon information given to the nhs staff as well. It sounds like you were referred when your condition deteriorated after seeming to get better. Maybe playing on it some more in the intervening time caused more damage? I hope your knee gets better and you can resume playing football, but should this not be the aim instead of adding to an already overburdened system full of chancers and shysters who do dilute and prolongate the whole process for genuine claimants? Why is my claim not genuine? I am now 6 or 7 months behind where i should be. All it needed was an MRI when i originally went in to show the ligament damage, not to be pushed out the door without so much as a pair of crutches and told i would be fine in 6 weeks....i have done nothing on it since it happened, my belly is testament to that. Even if i wanted to run/play football the bloody thing collapses from underneath me anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Super Saint Posted 3 June, 2009 Share Posted 3 June, 2009 Is it possible? How strong a case/life threatening would the case need to be? December 08- Injure Knee playing football, go to hospital, told it is twisted/strained and i will be fine in 6-8 weeks March 08- Go to doctors, knee still ruined and gives way at random times. It got progressively better from Xmas onwards then went down hill...fast. Referred to Hospital April 09- Go to hospital, sent for MRI April 09- MRI Scan May 09- Back to hospital, told MRI shows a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament and i will need surgery, possibly involving removing parts of my hamstring to rebuild the ligament. So 6 months of pain having seem some useless idiot when i first went to A+E. What ya think? Sue the maker of your time machine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special K Posted 3 June, 2009 Share Posted 3 June, 2009 Why is my claim not genuine? I am now 6 or 7 months behind where i should be. All it needed was an MRI when i originally went in to show the ligament damage, not to be pushed out the door without so much as a pair of crutches and told i would be fine in 6 weeks....i have done nothing on it since it happened, my belly is testament to that. Even if i wanted to run/play football the bloody thing collapses from underneath me anyway I can empathise with that. I didn't mean to infer your claim wasn't genuine as i don't know anything about your injury other than what was posted up. But is it really wrong of them to assume your condition was nothing more than a sprain? My back pain was, according to my GP, a muscle pull that was easily treated with pain killers and rest. Wrong, it is caused by a degeneration of my discs which will require surgery. However, i'm not about to sue my GP for his first diagnosis. I went in with a bit of back pain and he gave me advice and treatment based upon what (i would imagine) the majority of back pain is caused by. It took a bit of badgering to get a referral, but that's just the way it works. The cause of my problem is not the NHS or it's employees, but my back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridge too far Posted 3 June, 2009 Share Posted 3 June, 2009 Since when has the Soton General been in the town centre yet charges astronomicallly for visitors and out patients! If you'd read my post thoroughly you would have seen that I spoke from experience of two hospitals (well, three if you count Winchester) not ALL hospitals and knowledge of many others. Most major hospitals are in town centres - if my memory serves me well, before the General I think RSH was the major Southampton hospital. However, one reason the General charges is to encourage staff to use the hospital's park and ride service rather than park for free / little charge on site. And I do know this to be so as Mr TF used to work at the General. The hospital's own site states that parking is limited so the last thing they need is staff parking there, willing to pay the daily charge and thereby preventing patients and visitors from parking. From their own website: The maximum charge for patients and visitors is £6.00 for one visit in any 24 hour period. If you stay longer than 6 hours, please obtain a parking discount voucher from the ward or department you have been visiting and take it at the security desk located at the main entrance to the hospital. There are special concessions available for some of our patients receiving treatments. Further information regarding these can be obtained direct from the department. And I have to say that I think their charges are very reasonable compared to many other hospitals. All day at QA and St Mary's is £8 and it's £10 at my local acute hospital in Oxford that is also 'not in the town centre' but also has limited parking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Give it to Ron Posted 3 June, 2009 Share Posted 3 June, 2009 If you'd read my post thoroughly you would have seen that I spoke from experience of two hospitals (well, three if you count Winchester) not ALL hospitals and knowledge of many others. Most major hospitals are in town centres - if my memory serves me well, before the General I think RSH was the major Southampton hospital. However, one reason the General charges is to encourage staff to use the hospital's park and ride service rather than park for free / little charge on site. And I do know this to be so as Mr TF used to work at the General. The hospital's own site states that parking is limited so the last thing they need is staff parking there, willing to pay the daily charge and thereby preventing patients and visitors from parking. From their own website: The maximum charge for patients and visitors is £6.00 for one visit in any 24 hour period. If you stay longer than 6 hours, please obtain a parking discount voucher from the ward or department you have been visiting and take it at the security desk located at the main entrance to the hospital. There are special concessions available for some of our patients receiving treatments. Further information regarding these can be obtained direct from the department. And I have to say that I think their charges are very reasonable compared to many other hospitals. All day at QA and St Mary's is £8 and it's £10 at my local acute hospital in Oxford that is also 'not in the town centre' but also has limited parking. Winchester and the QA are not in town centres either are they nor is Poole! I will tell you why most don't use the Genral park and ride facility......40 cars damaged by a nutter going on the rampage! Why should people be charged £6 to park their car - its utter bullshine to say its to discourage other people parking their - what other businesses are sited near the hospital? The cemetry and people are dying to get in there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridge too far Posted 3 June, 2009 Share Posted 3 June, 2009 Winchester and the QA are not in town centres either are they nor is Poole! I will tell you why most don't use the Genral park and ride facility......40 cars damaged by a nutter going on the rampage! Why should people be charged £6 to park their car - its utter bullshine to say its to discourage other people parking their - what other businesses are sited near the hospital? The cemetry and people are dying to get in there! Winchester is one mile from the city centre. QA is close enough to Cosham for trains. The problem is, Ron, if parking was free two things would happen: 1. Staff would park on site. For example, at the main Oxford Hospital (also not in a town centre but close to a busy shopping centre and charging £10 per day) there are over 9,000 staff. OK some work shifts and some will be part-time. It has 1,000 in-patient beds and, during the course of the year, sees half a million out-patient visits. It has just under 700 parking spaces. 2. Other people WOULD park at the site and then catch buses into the city or visit the local shops. The alternative would be to provide thousands of car park spaces for free but hospitals are governed by local planning laws that apply a percentage number of spaces based on patients, visitors and staff. Another point you should bear in mind is that if the car parks were not maintained out of car park revenue, they would have to be maintained out of the hospital budget. This would have detrimental implications for other, more pressing needs such as staff and equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Give it to Ron Posted 3 June, 2009 Share Posted 3 June, 2009 Winchester is one mile from the city centre. QA is close enough to Cosham for trains. The problem is, Ron, if parking was free two things would happen: 1. Staff would park on site. For example, at the main Oxford Hospital (also not in a town centre but close to a busy shopping centre and charging £10 per day) there are over 9,000 staff. OK some work shifts and some will be part-time. It has 1,000 in-patient beds and, during the course of the year, sees half a million out-patient visits. It has just under 700 parking spaces. 2. Other people WOULD park at the site and then catch buses into the city or visit the local shops. The alternative would be to provide thousands of car park spaces for free but hospitals are governed by local planning laws that apply a percentage number of spaces based on patients, visitors and staff. Another point you should bear in mind is that if the car parks were not maintained out of car park revenue, they would have to be maintained out of the hospital budget. This would have detrimental implications for other, more pressing needs such as staff and equipment. TBH I am not totally against minimal car parking charges but there is no way anyone can justify the expense at SGH - £6 is a joke its not as if sometimes you have a choice but to go there! There are enough spaces to host an attendant and keep the site up together - but we all know where that money really goes. The bit in bold made me laugh......have you ever caught a bus in Southampton from the SGH to town? Or to that matter any Soton bus...who would choose that as any means of transport is mad, they are smelly dirty, rude bus drivers, stopping at the millions of traffic lights in this city and costs a small mortgage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridge too far Posted 3 June, 2009 Share Posted 3 June, 2009 TBH I am not totally against minimal car parking charges but there is no way anyone can justify the expense at SGH - £6 is a joke its not as if sometimes you have a choice but to go there! There are enough spaces to host an attendant and keep the site up together - but we all know where that money really goes. The bit in bold made me laugh......have you ever caught a bus in Southampton from the SGH to town? Or to that matter any Soton bus...who would choose that as any means of transport is mad, they are smelly dirty, rude bus drivers, stopping at the millions of traffic lights in this city and costs a small mortgage. Ron, I wasn't talking about SGH - I don't know anything about it and I said so (apart from the bit about Mr TF having worked there in the past). But if you extrapolate the points I made about parking spaces, bed numbers, outpatient numbers and staff numbers in Oxford to SGH (a much larger hospital I believe) you'll understand the point I was making. What would your solution be to ensure that genuine users had access to SGH parking spaces as far as possible, and to maintain the car parks (by that I mean repair, gardening, litter picking etc.)? I say again, most hospitals have policies whereby long-stay patients and their visitors get at least discounted parking. You might be interested to read Oxford's policy. http://www.oxfordradcliffe.nhs.uk/findus/jr/jrcar.pdf I'm sure SGH has something similar. Indeed, although I couldn't find the info on staff numbers, beds, numbers of parking spaces etc. I did find this about concessions: The maximum charge for patients and visitors is £6.00 for one visit in any 24 hour period. If you stay longer than 6 hours, please obtain a parking discount voucher from the ward or department you have been visiting and take it at the security desk located at the main entrance to the hospital. There are special concessions available for some of our patients receiving treatments. Further information regarding these can be obtained direct from the department. Long stay parking If you need to use the car park for more than a few days, it may be worthwhile considering purchasing a long-stay ticket. Long stay tickets allow unlimited parking for either 7 days at £14.00, 14 days at £28.00 or 30 days at £42.00 People are very quick to leap onto the 'let's knock the NHS' bandwagon without actually thinking through the ramifications of free parking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint_stevo Posted 3 June, 2009 Author Share Posted 3 June, 2009 its free parking at Hythe hospital! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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