NHS WASTES A FORTUNE ON RECRUITING FOREIGN STAFF

THE cash-strapped NHS is recruiting doctors and nurses from Romania with attractive salary deals and perks.

They are being offered £2,000 a week, at least 10 times more than they could earn in hospitals back home.

The massive recruitment drive will enrage NHS workers whose salaries have been frozen for two years to save money. In austerity Britain, health authorities are implementing £20billion of cuts over the next four years, with job losses estimated at 10,000 or more in two years.

A Sunday Express investigation in the Romanian region of Transylvania has shown health recruitment firms have been desperately trying to sign up medics, luring them with pay packages far in excess of anything they could earn in their own country.

There are already about 600 Romanian doctors in British hospitals, a figure set to double in five years through the recruitment drives by companies supplying staff to the NHS.

Hundreds of medics attended the MedPharm Careers fair in Cluj-Napoca, Transylvania, this month. NES Healthcare advertised for Romanian doctors with at least two years’ hospital-based experience in pre- and post-surgery care. “You don’t get involved with the surgery, only the care of the patient, before and after,” they were told.

The payment offered was 50,000 euros a year for 168 hours per week, with candidates advised: “you can be called during the night if there is an emergency so you are there all the time. You are working for a week, sleeping at the hospital on call in case anything happens during the night. You get £2,000 a week. Then, the next week, you’re free and you don’t get paid for the free week, you’re paid only when you’re working. You get an employment contract. Accommodation and food are also free.”

Romanians were also interested in working as locums in Britain. One recruiter said: “English doctors like to have holidays and foreign doctors don’t mind working instead.”

The pitch appealed to 31-year-old Horatiu Moldovan who said: “The UK is first on my list. They have this locum system, to replace doctors there, so you can keep your position here too.

“In two or three days of being a locum there, I can earn what I would need to work three months for in Romania.”

Global Medic had contracts for up to three years, at £30 an hour for a minimum 40-hour week.

Dermatologist Alina Surcel, 36, said: “After 10 years of working in Romania as a doctor, I want to go to the UK for labour conditions, for the quality of life, for the future of my children.

“Here, a specialist doctor at a state hospital earns 300 euros, there one can earn 20 times more. But it’s not just the money, there are all the other benefits."

DE

Three pence in every pound spent in NHS is wasted 'costing us billions'

Three pence in every pound that goes into the National Health Service is wasted, official figures revealed today.

The latest productivity data reveals billions of pounds is being squandered every year with eye-watering amounts thrown away on extra staff that were not needed or poured into excessive pay rises for doctors. Critics said the revelations are a damning indictment of Labour's stewardship of the Health Service during its 13 years in power. And the situation is getting worse according to the figures from the Office for National Statistics which show the decline in productivity in 2008 was more than double the level the year before.

NHS spending rose soared between 2001, when it was £43billion, and 2008, when it was almost £100billion - fulfilling Tony Blair's pledge that the amount spent should be on a par with other western European countries.

Much of this was funded by a 1p increase in National Insurance, but the ONS figures show that although many more services were provided for this money, the taxpayer did not get quite as much as it paid for.

Every year between 2001 and 2008, productivity fell by an average of 0.4 per cent a year - adding up to a 3 per cent fall in productivity by 2008.

It means that, by 2008, taxpayers were getting 3 per cent less in terms of operations, tests and appointments than they should have done if all the money had been spent properly. This indicates that around £3billion is effectively now being wasted every year.

In contrast, before the extra money was pumped in, between 1995 and 2001, productivity remained broadly stable, with the amount going in never exceeding the outputs - indicating that the Health Service was spending its limited resources much more wisely.

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'This fall in efficiency has cost taxpayers a fortune, and puts the lie to the Government’s boasts about public spending. By focusing on spending more rather than making sure the budget was spent well, they have squandered billions of pounds. The NHS must now improve efficiency and give taxpayers a better deal, which will save money and improve patient care.'

There are worrying signs the situation is getting worse.

In 2008, productivity declined by 0.7 per cent compared to the previous year. This is more than double the 2007 fall of 0.3 per cent.

Three years ago, MPs lambasted the 'reckless and uncontrolled' recruitment of too many doctors and nurses. The health select committee said an 'appalling' lack of planning by the Government meant that trusts recruited far more staff than they could afford to pay. They took on record numbers of doctors and nurses between 2000 and 2004, when money was readily available - only for thousands to be laid off after 2005 as deficits began to bite.

Money was thrown at new staff but there was little effort to ensure they were being more productive. In many cases, it meant that staff were taken on but simply ended up doing the same amount of work as was taking place before.

The NHS Plan, published in 2000, said there was a need for 20,000 extra nurses by 2004. Instead, almost 68,000 were employed.

GP numbers swelled by more than 4,000 - double the number planned.

New pay contracts for NHS staff also cost much more than expected.

For example, in 2004/05, the GP contract cost £250million more, consultants £90million, while the Agenda for Change package, which covers nurses and other NHS staff, overspent by £220million.

The new contract for GPs, for example, has seen their pay rise by 47 per cent to an average of £106,000. But at the same time, the amount of work they are actually doing has fallen:by some seven hours a week. And more than 90 per cent of them have opted out of responsibility for patients out of hours - leaving it up to primary care trusts to bring in expensive cover which is often substandard.

But the Government points to improvements in waiting times and survival rates, which it says would not have happened without vast increases in resources.

Health minister Mike O'Brien said: 'In 1997, the NHS was severely under staffed and under funded.

‘We have had to address this under staffing and that has affected productivity. We can now deliver the shortest waiting times in the history of the NHS and a major reduction in death rates and health care associated infections, whilst improving quality and seeing and treating more patients than ever. Most economists and HM Treasury accept it is difficult to grow capacity and productivity at the same time, yet the NHS maintained virtually flat productivity (-0.3 per cent per annum) over the longest period of sustained growth in its history.'
DAILY MAIL

Immigration IS a burden on British resources

Thanks to what the Conservatives started and Labour adhered to, this video report PROVES without doubt that Enoch Powell was correct in his foresight about immigration. Turkey is set to join the EU soon and we will be forced to accept possibly 200,000 Turkish citizens of muslim origin into our country by EU ruling.

To prevent this from happening and to deport and expel those who do not belong in our country - VOTE BNP!

The BNP are the only political party with the BALLS to close our borders to immigration and asylum applicants, the only party with the BALLS to take our brave brothers in arms OUT of Afghanistan to guard OUR country from the threat of terrorism.

To preserve the British way of life, do the right thing...

Vote BNP for your sake, your children’s sake and your grand-children’s sake!

MadeInEngland

British Health Service one of the worst in Europe

So, our Health Service is supposed to be the best in the world is it?

How many times do we hear ‘If it wasn’t for immigration we wouldn’t have doctors, nurses, dentists, blah, blah, blah’?

Well, according to a survey published yesterday by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, even though we have more nurses than most other countries, Britain is behind the Czech Republic and Poland in international league tables. When it comes to health we lag even further behind the wealthiest nations, such as France, Sweden and Germany.

In the past 12 years, Labour have tripled NHS spending to more than £100billion a year, but they have still failed to improve our Health Service.

Full story HERE

NHS abused by immigrants

I was outraged to see an article today about the amount of foreign women in our maternity units.

Administrators at the Chelsea and Westminster hospital in London put up a map of the world and encouraged the women to place a dot on the country they are from, apparently to ‘celebrate ethnic diversity’.

Out of 243 women only 18 were British. The rest are from 72 different nations including Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Asia and Africa. And this is at just one hospital.

Almost every cot and incubator was occupied by a baby with a foreign mother and interpreters were on hand to make sure they understood the doctors.

Some of the women arrive straight from the airport with tags still attached to their luggage; many come as health tourists knowing our NHS will provide excellent care for babies born with profound illnesses needing lifetime treatment and medication.

The cost per day for each child? £1, 400

Many of these children have ailments such as sickle cell anaemia (almost unknown among North European’s, but is common in African and Mediterranean communities), HIV passed from the mother as well as deafness, blindness and devastating neurological problems which are common among ethnic minorities where marriages between cousins are the norm.

In London, 50 percent of babies are born to foreign mothers although in Newham and Brent that raises to 75% and 73%. In Chelsea the figure is 67%.

The next time you read of an expectant mother not able to find a hospital bed, or a child needing to travel miles for treatment, you’ll know why.

Stopping smoking and the NHS

I am thinking of stopping smoking and thought I'd take a look online to see what help was available. I've tried quite a few times and always started again.

During my search I came across NHS Choices Smoke Free which had different sections such as the addiction test.

I chose to look at the timeline section which explains the benefits of stopping smoking and how quickly your body adjusts once you stop. In this section you can download videos and guides.

It was while I was checking out the downloads that I came across a section called 'South Asian tobacco use information'. I wondered what the hell South Asia had to do with the NHS so I opened the file.

And there it was, in Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, Gujarati and Bengali. Not just a leaflet available in various languages (24 to be precise), but a whole section for Asians in our country.

Now then, if they have to have their own section doesn't that tell you something?

And considering London is now so diverse, is it a surprise that the ultra diverse Queen Mary University of London - incidently spread around the lovely Tower Hamlets - is one of the organisations involved in the campaign?

It looks like the big takeover is well under way.

IMMIGRANTS TO MAN SWINE FLU LINES

Hundreds of immigrants most of whom barely speak English and have no medical skills, are being recruited to man emergency swine flu lines. They will diagnose swine flu and enable patients to gain access to Tamiflu.

Job centres say they can’t supply the 1,500 needed because there aren’t enough people on their books that have telephone manning skills. So, Telepeformance, a call centre in Ashby-De-La-Zouch, Leicester, who usually deals with electricity accounts, has been recruiting immigrants at £5.80 and hour.

A source said:

"A lot of immigrants, hundreds of them, are applying who can hardly talk any English but because we’re desperate to find a lot of people in such a short amount of time we’re taking them on.

As long as they can provide proof of their date of birth, they can get through the recruitment process. When I speak to them on the phone they can barely understand what I’m saying and even those who can speak English are very difficult to understand.

It seems we’re just going to recruit as many as possible to reach the target of 1,500 before the end of this week.

They are literally recruiting people straight off the street. We usually deal with electricity accounts here, but we were told that the NHS required people to man phones during the swine flu crisis and were asked if we knew anyone who is interested.

It’s an absolute joke. It can be anyone. They are asked to come in for just one day’s training. But the people they are asking are desperate for work so, of course, they will take it."

What the hell is the Department of Health thinking? As usual all they can see is the numbers target and they are playing a very dangerous game.

Swine Flu in Amber Valley

It was only a matter of time before swine flu spread to every part of the country. If ‘normal’ flu is anything to go by, no nook or cranny will be exempt.

Every day more cases are reported and after reading my local newspaper online today, it confirmed that 4 secondary schools in Amber Valley have been added to the ever growing list.

Pupils from Ripley's Mill Hill School, Heanor Gate Science College, Aldercar Community Language College and Alfreton Grange Arts College have been sent home with symptoms.

A spokesman for Heanor Gate Science college says:

“This was a very minor incident. A letter has gone out to all students about the incident and what the Derbyshire Primary care Trust is saying. All parents should have received a letter on Monday. There was no need to keep anybody off school, it was a very mild case, there was no need to close the school or vaccinate any of the pupils.”

A spokesman for Alfreton grange Arts College says:

“The pupil's doctor says he has only mild symptoms and that in his professional opinion there is no need for any special or emergency measures to be taken. The pupil is being treated as though he has 'ordinary' flu. We have spoken to the pupil's doctor and the news is that the pupil is 'on the road to recovery.”

The pupils should recover quickly because they are young, fit and healthy. But what of those they come into contact with daily, those not fit and healthy? One thing is for sure, it is no good putting someone into isolation once they have the symptoms. The damage has already been done.

New health guidelines now state that anyone with symptoms should still go to school or work, thus spreading the virus even more.

No longer will blood testing be carried out. It is to be assumed that anyone with flu like symptoms has swine flu and is to be treated accordingly. There are two options; antibiotics like Tamiflu, or ride it out. Personally I will try and ride it out as antibiotics, if used early enough, will make the flu last just one day less than if you hadn’t taken them.Of course if you have underlying conditions then you should choose the antibiotic route.

I thought I'd take a look at the NHS website for details on incubation period and symptoms.

At the moment they are not sure of the length of incubation. They think probably up to seven days but suggest that between two and five days is more likely.

http://www.nhs.uk/AlertsEmergencies/Pages/Pandemicflualert.aspx

Next I wanted to try out the online swine flu symptom checker. It timed out over and over again. My only assumption being that the site is very busy.

I know a lot of people will be worried by the spread of this virus, but we should try and remember this. Scare tactics are used every year when it comes to the flu season. Treat it as just another scare, but if in doubt, make sure you contact your doctor.

List of schools in Amber Valley with confirmed swine flu cases:

Ashbrook Infant School Borrowash
St John Fisher Primary School Derby
Landau Forte College Derby
Whitecotes Primary School Chesterfield
South Darley Primary School Cross Green, Matlock
Shirland Primary School Shirland
Mary Swanwick Primary School Chesterfield
Chaucer Infant School Ilkeston
Gamesley Early Excellence Centre Gamesley, Glossop
Heanor Gate Science College Heanor
New Bolsover Primary School Bolsover
Brimington Junior School Brimington
St Anne's Catholic Primary School Buxton
Speedwell Infant School Staveley
Staveley Junior School * Staveley
Henry Bradley Infant School Chesterfield
Heath Primary School Heath
Mill Hill School Ripley
Aldercar Community School Langley Mill
Parkhouse Primary School Lower Pilsley, Chesterfield
Glossopdale Community College Glossop
English Martyrs Catholic Primary School Long Eaton
Buxton Infant School Buxton
St Mary's Primary School Chesterfield
Cloudside Junior School Sandiacre
Wilsthorpe Business and Enterprise College Long Eaton
Field House Infant School Ilkeston
St John Horton Secondary School Ilkeston
Dunston Primary School Newbold, Chesterfield
Alfreton Grange Arts College Alfreton
Stretton Handley CofE Primary School Alfreton
Norbriggs Primary School Mastin Moor, Chesterfield
Tibshelf Community School Tibshelf
Cotmanhay Infant School Ilkeston
Sawley Infants School (Nursery) Sawley, Long Eaton
Brookfield Primary School Langwith Junction
Model Village Primary School Shirebrook
Alfreton Nursery School Alfreton
New Bolsover Primary School Bolsover
Old Hall Junior School Brampton, Chesterfield
Charlesworth School Charlesworth
Firfield Primary School Breaston
Dinting CofE Primary School Dinting Vale, Glossop
Deer Park Primary School Wingerworth
Wilsthorpe Secondary School Long Eaton
Stubbing Wood Special School Langwith Junction
Somerlea Park Junior School Somercotes
Cutthorpe Primary School Cutthorpe, Chesterfield
Howitt Primary School Heanor