Rant about waste

[seasidegirl]

We received FOUR letters today from our local NHS about their new centralisation of health records.

They sent to each one of us in the house an 11 page booklet, two letters, reply envelope (for objections) and posted them all individually. One of them was sent to my son who is 15

Unbelievable waste of resources. Can't even see why they sent the letter (s) anyway. Who wouldn't want health professionals to know their medical history wherever they might be in the country? Common sense isn't it?

If people want their records private from NHS staff then they should go private imo.

[Flo]

Lady, the NHS couldn't run a desktop computer let alone an accessible medical records system if they tried (witness your four letters).

You can guarantee that it will be hacked, blow up when you end up in the A&E department at the furthest point in UK from your doctor or your information will be entered incorrectly.

It's been going to happen for years but my doctor still had to consult paper records when I last visited - end of last year. So, whatever and don't expect anything to improve with the NHS.

[seasidegirl]

Yeah I had an xray recently and it took six weeks for someone to tell me what the picture showed. The doctor who told me was not my own, as he was on hols, but then on his return my doctor sent me a letter (2nd class) he didn't seem to know that I had seen his colleague and been referred for treatment.

And as for the computer (as shown they can't communicate with the ones they got) my son, of fifteen, remarked when he read the letter that experience has taught him not to put everything on one computer.

[citizentwiglet]

We had similar recently because our surgery has two sites, and the smaller of the two (the one we have never attended) is closing. To let us know that the site we have never visited is closing, they sent us a 9 page document and 5 page questionairre to fill out. That was one to me, one to OH, one to a three year old, and one to a 13 month old. For a laugh, I let the kids fill out their questionairres in brightly coloured crayon, and posted them both back, individually, in the first class postage paid envelopes they had kindly included.

Hurrah for our dentists, though, who used to send out ONE letter to both children for their appointments AND could manage to schedule them together; but now actually EMAIL you to let you know when the appointments are. If you don't reply to the email within 3 days, they phone you to let you know. Now, ain't that clever? No paper, no postage, nor nuffin.

[loulou]

I opted out and I am not private, I would rather my details were not available for anyone to lose as seems to be the case with private sensitive information.

I will continue to wear my bracelet and carry my notes like I have always done

[seasidegirl]

citizent ... another example of an appalling waste of paper and postage. I did think about returning all these but instead will try and maintain my anger long enough to write a letter.

Loulou. Understand your point of view. If you are able to carry the important info then that shoud be quite sufficient in any eventuality.

My condition is not yet fully diagnosed so I'd like whoever to be able to know what they've found out so far.

I think all these individual letters are probably because of the data protection act.
I don't know there had to be a cheaper less wasteful way to notify people of their right to opt out. Ads in newspapers or tv information broadcast?

[citizentwiglet]

Mmm, I'm not overly comfortable with this idea that my details are centralised / left on a train somewhere; but my medical conditions would make for a very heavy bracelet.

I do write that I am Factor V Leiden / Thrombocythaemia with hypoglycemia and severe anaemia in my diary and my address book in case I get knocked down by a bus, but most of the time I'm not organised enough to carry those with me. So I tend to tell people 'Hi, I'm Jac - I might faint at any minute, and I might just have a stroke. Bear with me, and call an ambulance' instead. Because even though all those details are down on my records, it didn't stop the NHS doing everything they could to GIVE me a DVT, including trying to put me on the fecking pill. 'I can't' said I 'I'm got thrombocythaemia'.........'have you?' said the GP, looking straight at the computer that was flashing red with the words 'CLOTTING DISORDER'...........

[southeast-isher]

I decided to opt out in the end. I have a friend who was contracted to work on the IT systems for the NHS and his uncertainty in the systems he was helping build made me decide i didn't want my details being held on their computers.

[seasidegirl]

I'm really glad I posted about this because it's so easy to get wound up about things and if you don't hear other viewpoints then these feelings just carry on.

I'm still cross about the waste of paper and postage, at the very least I think it should have been one letter per household (the electoral roll registration can manage this) but on the privacy issue I can see the other side.

I'm still happy to be on the computer because I'm not too worried about privacy but can see that the amount of info held on us all is worrying. Remember when we moved into our house and filled out the form for a water supply account I was asked for my National Insurance number. I couldn't see it was any of their business so wrote N/A in the space. The fact this was never queried proves they were not entitled to this info, but why did they want it?

[loulou]

I think all these individual letters are probably because of the data protection act.
I don't know there had to be a cheaper less wasteful way to notify people of their right to opt out. Ads in newspapers or tv information broadcast?

Newspaper and TV would not work either as a high percentage would not see it for one reason or another, I know I would not see it on the TV or newspaper as I do not have a TV or read the paper, I do however use the internet so maybe a mix of the three would of been better but then you will still have people claim they did not see it. With as letter Job Blogs has no excuse and the NHS has covered its backside regarding DP

I do agree though its such a huge waste, you would think a multi letter with everyones opt out choices in one envelope would of made more sense (just one booklet then too) but then organisation and common sense has never been the big wigs strong point

[citizentwiglet]

Remember when we moved into our house and filled out the form for a water supply account I was asked for my National Insurance number. I couldn't see it was any of their business so wrote N/A in the space. The fact this was never queried proves they were not entitled to this info, but why did they want it?

So they could sell your data on. Companies will buy it, and cross reference it with your NI number and any other information they have on you from other databases they've bought, to build up a 'profile' picture of you - your age, whether you work, if you're on benefits, so they can send you more junk in the post.

[A&A]

You keep your own records here. It's your responsibility to take them with you when you go for appointments and if you lose them it's your own misfortune. It's a good system. If you're particularly concerned about losing them - you make copies and keep them elsewhere. No responsibility on the health service for their security nor admin costs incurred storing them.

[Millymollymandy]

That's an interesting system. My doc keeps everything in his personal computer but we are always given our X-rays/scans etc that we have to keep and take to further appts. My doc gets the hump if I went and had a mammogram/echogram (for example) and next time I saw the doc I forgot to take the results along with me for him to scan the report into his computer!