Increased waiting times signal Government is losing control of NHS funding

A few stories in today's press got me thinking today. The first is about a man who is taking the NHS to court for refusing him a gastric bypass as, at 43, his BMI is not high enough to warrant the operation. The Daily Mail has responded to this in its typical manner with a headline screaming: 'Give me a gastric bypass! It's my human right'. Although many of the Mail's headlines are unfair this one is particularly harsh. The man in question has type 2 diabetes which has already caused him blindness in one eye, complications with his kidneys and he is now a wheelchair user. A gastric bypass has been shown to cure type 2 diabetes so this operation could literally save his life. He has already asked his Primary Care Trust (PCT) to deviate from their normal 'rules' over who is entitled to the operation on the grounds his other health issues make him an exceptional case. Yet his application was rejected. Moreover if he had lived in the neighbouring PCT he would have received the bypass without any appeals as they allow the operation for anyone with a BMI over 35.

Another article that caught my attention was a piece in the Guardian showing that NHS waiting times are increasing. The Guardian revealed that "The number of patients waiting more than six weeks for a diagnostic test has risen from 3,378 to 15,667 in the last year". Even more outrageous is "the small but growing number of cancer patients having to wait more than one or two months for treatment". This has left doctors to make the point that such delays could ultimately mean the difference between cancer killing their patients or not.

I'm not going to delve into the emotional stress faced by people waiting for diagnostic tests but instead will use the Coalition's favourite argument for reforms and talk in monetary terms.

It is clear to any rational person that delaying treatment for cancer patients or for those who are critically obese will cost the NHS more money in the long-term. Cancer that takes longer to cure costs the NHS more in bed space, consultancy time and medicine. A man who's obesity is causing diabetes to threaten his kidneys and his ability to walk will also increase costs to society, both medically and in social care.

I've spoken many times about the fact that the NHS is meant to be saving 4% every year for the next four years. Many economists believe this is impossible and as these heath rationing stories increase it seems that they are right. And what is this health rationing to achieve? Ill patients don't get better without treatment so clearly the costs won't go away unless patients are left to die or, as perhaps the Government hopes, seek private treatment.

To meet today's monetary targets, tomorrow's will be astronomical. This is seriously a case of false economics.And as we are only in year two of a five year cost saving plan it can only get worse. If something doesn't change waiting lists will soar.

The Government is so focused on pushing through its radical NHS reform plans, it seems to have lost the will to keep today's NHS functioning. Instead we are left with a postcode lottery of care and a Government insisting that waiting lists are 'broadly stable'. Tell that to the cancer patient who had to wait two months to start treatment.

Local variances in diabetes treatment challenges the use of 'National' in NHS

A recent national diabetes audit examining differences in patient care across the UK has revealed that almost 60 per cent of those with diabetes are NOT receiving effective care - despite the fact that 90 per cent of diabetic patients are now meeting healthcare teams at least once a year. Of nine recommended care processes that each diabetic patient should be offered, routine urine tests to detect early stage kidney failure is still the least used test - over a third of patients were NOT offered one. Statistics might seem dry but the fact that there has been a 20 per cent increase since 2003 of diabetics needing kidney dialysis or transplant demonstrates how serious these patient care 'oversights' can be.

These variances in health care across the UK are simply unacceptable. If there is a routine list of tests that should be done on diabetic patients, then a GP should simply print it off and tick them off as he or shes goes along. It doesn't have to be any more complicated than that.

It's interesting to note that the data was compiled by statistics offered by Patient Care Trusts (PCT). For those of you who don't know, a PCT is a local body operating within or across a few boroughs that decide how its local 'money pot' should be spent. I've had enough dealings with my PCT to think of a more appropriate four letter word to represent the 'C' in the acronym. No doubt I'll mention the PCT again in my blog, but in my opinion they have more power then they should have and make random monetary decisions about treatment which is never based on what is best for a patient. And often their money saving initiatives are short sighted: it's more economical to keep a patients diabetes under control then deal with the costly consequences such as dialysis and complicated operations.

So, if you have diabetes or any long term illness then do your research. Get in touch with the charity that represents your illness, talk to other patients on health forums and go to your GP armed with facts. If it was me I'd print out the nine key tests that I need, ask for them to be done and insist on a referral to a hospital specialist team if my GP wasn't able to do them.

Until changes are made in the NHS to provide truly universal care, then knowledge really is power when it comes to managing your long-term health.