GrumbleSmiles

Just when I am getting to grips with tackling the problems with waiting lists in the NHS. What happens? The junior doctors decide to go on strike☹️ That’s going to make the waiting lists even longer, before I have had a chance to reduce them.

And that is not all. The consultants are also unhappy about their pay offer and are balloting about further industrial action. The nurses are not wanting to miss out, so they to are polling their members about a walk out. Ambulance drivers will no doubt be next.

Pretty soon the only people in hospital will be the patients. An extreme version of do-it-yourself health care!

Still one good thing to come out of this striking situation is that waiting lists should reduce dramatically. Who wants to go into a hospital with no doctors or nurses?

I suppose with my new best friend, AI, we could get robots to do the cleaning and we could get Deliveroo to provide the food. Doctors rounds could be done with Chatbots. Medication prescribed by Google could be handed out by drones.

Tesla electric trolley’s could transport you for X-rays, or CT scans and even deliver you for operations by AI robot surgeons.

MAYBE WE ARE ON TO SOMETHING🤡

The doctors, consultants, nurses and ambulance drivers could stay on strike FOREVER.

Apologies to my friend Chat GPT, it just needed a few more nanoseconds to compute the correct graph from the zillions of bits of information it had collected on NHS waiting lists. Then it came up with the upto date graph below.

I am not sure what RTT stands for, it appeared out of nowhere? But the graph is much better.

I’ve just found out 😀 RTT STANDS FOR — Referral to Treatment.

The AI world is full of acronyms, just so you look very clever when you are talking about it🤡. And yes I know you don’t spell gynaecology with “ ie” at the end and that ophthalmology has a “gy” ay the end but give Chat a bit of leeway it is still learning.

So this is my second stab at using my AI friend, Chat GPT, to explore NHS waiting lists and what needs to be done to reduce them without spending a fortune that we haven’t got.

My first attempt did eventually come up with some useful data and some graphical diagrams. I always find it easier to understand pictures😀

Here is some of what I have found so far :-

• 7.4 million cases as of May-June 2025.
• trauma & orthopaedics 850,000 (11% of total)
• ENT 616,000 (8%)
• Ophthalmology 500,000 (7%)
• Gynaecology 500,000 (7%)
• Cardiology 400,000 (5%)
• Dermatology 400,000 (5%)
• Oncology ?
• Mental Health (370,000-470,00) monthly
• ADHD assessments (549,00)
• Heart Valve procedures (300,000)

This accounts for roughly 3.5 million cases or approximately half the list.

No one speciality dominates the waiting list. Or looked at another way they are all behind. Mental Health seems to be a fast growing area of unfulfilled demand.

This must be the picture that confronts a new Government and a new Health Minister when they come into post.

SO WHERE ON EARTH DO YOU START?

A rather odd pye graph from Chat GP, which doesn’t relate to the figures in the list above?

AI can’t make its mind up about ADHD or is AHDH and why twice?

It seems blind to ophthalmology 😀 and ENT is duplicated.

All a bit of a mess. Thank goodness AI is not doing operations yet!

NHS WAITING LIST PYE CHARTS

I have been exploring the use of Chat GPT to do my background research. Sadly so far I haven’t mastered the wonders of AI. But I will keep trying.

Watch this space………..

My blog last week described the beginning of a brave new NHS world. A world of preventative medicine and relentless testing. All designed to move the focus of health care away from reactionary hospital care more in the direction of early diagnosis and community care. It sounds almost too good to be true. But will it work? Will it save money? How long will it take? These questions have still to be answered.

Let’s see if we can extrapolate from my own experience over the last two months. As my last blog explained it all started with a routine annual medication review with my GP and a casual passing remark about a cough. This obviously rang a warning bell for the GP. Who is very good and rightly cautious on my behalf.

However, it triggered the start of an investigation far greater than I imagined. The first phase is fully described in detail in my earlier blog. Over the period of a month it involved three potentially significant health conditions and FOURTEEN different front-line health professionals plus even more back room staff. The good news was that at the end of this nothing untoward was found. PHEW!

Just one problem. None of these tests explained the mysterious and long forgotten cough☹️

So started phase two of the testing journey. The search for an unexplained shadow on my left lung☹️ Don’t mention the “C” word at this point! Off to see a specialist lung doctor for some more tests. (receptionist, lung doctor, lung nurse) Height and weight measured again. (2 patient measurers). This time the “C” word was mentioned as a possibility☹️ but only briefly😀.

This then began a trek thought some previously unexplored parts of the vast NHS empire. First a respiratory test in a cubicle that could have fired me into space, but fortunately didn’t lift off. Lots of heavy breathing. (Receptionist, respiratory nurse). Next, a few days later, a CT scan on my chest in a newly built diagnostic unit in the community ( receptionist, CT assistant, CT consultant)

Still not conclusive, so I needed a full body scan, so two weeks later I went to the local hospital to meet some more nice people ( receptionist, CT assistant, CT nurse and a back room CT consultant) All very polite, friendly and efficient. Results in two weeks.

By now it is nearly two months since I went for a routine check on my medication and mentioned my occasional cough. I’ ve seen 29 NHS staff, all of whom were very helpful. I have also had 7 different tests and examinations all done fairly promptly.

Finally I got the ALL CLEAR. it was just a cough 😀😀😀😀

God knows how much that cost the NHS, but testing is obviously not cheap. Thank goodness the NHS is free. The service was exemplary throughout, in complete contrast to the image often portrayed of the NHS. Absolutely no case for ambulance chasing, no win, no fee lawyers.

The start of a new era in the NHS. An all singing, all dancing 10 year plan to cure all ills.

Based on preventative testing and early diagnosis. Testing will be done in new diagnostic centres at the behest of GP’s. All much quicker and avoiding unnecessary referrals to hospitals. Sounds good so far😀

Now I have recently had an early experience of this process ahead of the launch of the heralded new 10 year plan. It reflects well on the NHS, but highlights the substantial resources required.

I went to my GP for a routine annual review of my medication. I only take 5 pills a day, which I think is pretty low for my age 😀 Whilst there I mentioned I had a bit of a cough a month or two ago, but it was OK now. Obviously I was asked about my smoking habits and reassured her I haven’t smoked for over 30 years. My diligent GP recommended I get a blood test; an ECG and a chest X-ray, in case I had heart failure☹️,just as a precaution. (1receptionist, 1 GP, 1pharmacist )

So the very same day I went for a routine blood test at the walk- in centre at my local hospital. Spoke to a volunteer who checked me in and told me to see the receptionist who checked my appointment and moved me on to the phlebotomist who extracted a sample of blood and sent me on my way. (1 volunteer, 1 receptionist, I X-ray assistant and 1 radiologist)

A few days later a letter arrived with an appointment for my chest X-ray, so I trotted off to the hospital again. Spoke to the receptionist who directed me straight through to the X-ray assistant and in less than five minutes it was completed and passed to the radiologist. (1 booking administrator,1 receptionist, 1 X-ray assistant, 1radioligist )

In the meantime I saw the Practice nurse at the GP surgery for the ECG. After looking at the graphs she consulted another GP who confirmed the results were OK. (1 Practice nurse, 1GP )

Only a few days later all the results were through and I went to see the GP again to discuss the outcome. The good news was the ECG was fine and the blood tests confirmed I haven’t got heart failure. PHEW! Neither had I got a kidney problem, although I was “ boarder-line” OOPS. My risk of diabetes is elevated so I need to keep it under review FINGERS CROSSED THEN.

Diseases – diabetes boarderline ,,, heart failure. Kidney infection asthemea. Cancer

Occupations nurse , doctor , receptionist, radiologist, GP , flobotomist , X-ray assistant. CT SCAN ASSISTANT, CT SCAN NURSE, Respiratory consultant, resp nurse,