Genesis Health Systems

What are important issues today in regards to health care systems and health conditions?

Public Comments

1. The rising cost of healthcare. Alot of people, especially the elderly aren't receiving the care they need and they are unable to afford their medications.
2. i think that most patients, depending on what sort of ailments they have, just want to know that they will actually receive treatment within a fairly resonable time.
3. Cost, of course. Then again, I live in the US so we're still trying to work out how to get everyone insured in the first place. There's also the matter of how much the doctors REALLY care about you. When I was in the hospital for pregnancy complications, there was a whole slew of specialists that came marching through my room day after day. I always got the feeling that they forgot about me COMPLETELY the moment they stepped out of the room. When they WERE with me, the entire process felt impersonal and rushed. I hated it.
4. Health, Stress, and Coping
5. In the Uk the lack of dental resources and poor dental standards, lack of procedures the nhs is willing to give nhs patients as compared to the past. Also the lack of private dentists and those who will accept dental insurance. Dental insurance is of no value if there are no dentists who will accept patients with dental insurance....... .... and on the medical side the lack of ability for the NHS to investigate more than one problem at a time. Unable to sent patients to more than one specialist at a time. Also that doctors hands are tied in their choice of medication to give to their patients. A specialist may wish to give a patient a certain drug, but guidlines dictate that the same patient has to go through a list of other cheaper medications before they can reach the specific medication the specialist knows would be more helpful. Thus, the patient goes through months/years of having to take medication which does not help to reach the medication further up the list which will help. Doctors/specialists should have a free'r hand in deciding which medication/treatment to give. The protocol doesn't work, it doesn't give the adaptability that both the specialist and patient needs. I'm sure the US has it's own set of problems but in the UK we seem to pay twice for our healthcare and the cost of prescriptions goes up and up.
6. I work in the NHS and it has to be one of the most stressful of jobs I have ever done. Since it went over to patient-led, it is literally like handing the asylum over to the lunatics.....really. I was sent an official letter about a year ago, informing me that a complaint had been received about me from a patient (service user...client...customer...whatever), and that I should bring a union rep with me and attend an official meeting with the manager. I had no idea what the complaint was until the day of the meeting, and duly turned up with 2 supporters. The charge....? It was one of making a noise when I entered a bedroom, and the official machine swung into full action to resolve the problem to the patients satisfaction, which resulted in a personal apology from the manager, to the patient. I never did find out what the noise was that I was supposed to have made. For anyones information, I work on a ward where I care for a range of mental problems, that often involves much abuse, shouting, physical abuse, etc from patients,and the patient that complained about me was a total alcoholic,drinking 2 lites of rum a day, supplied on the ward by his visitors, who was always so out of it that we had to pick him up off the floor when he fell out of bed in his drunken state, and not one official stopped this all the time he was with us...... Issues.....? Problems....? You couldnt make half of it up.