King's College Hospital in special measures: what does it mean, exactly?

[dbboy]

I am sure we all have experiences of Kings and probably both good and bad, but I'd guess that applies to any NHS hospital in the UK.

BUT, having been admitted by ambulance in the early hours of a day in May 18 months ago, without their swift intervention in resus and 7 weeks spent in A&E, critical care, high dependency and in wards in Kings, I'd not be here now, so all I can do is be grateful to them for everything they did for me and for having given me a second chance at life, quite literally.

[intexasatthe moment]

Difficult and emotive .

Like others I have personal experience of life saving care for an acute condition .

But ,also like others ,I have had bad experience when it comes to chronic and non life threatening care .

[Socrates31]

I actually find this really shocking, as a research employee of king's I aways held it in the highest regards (particularly for my field, mental health), but to be put on special measures is a serious issue. It makes me afraid for the future.

[natty01295]

Yes, the Hospital Caused me a Lot of Stress, Grief And Pain,Anxiety And ANGER!!!

[Pugwash]

Although not employed by the NHS I spent 20 years working mainly in Kings but also had to include Lewisham, Princess Royal, Orpington, UCL and other hospitals in my visits.

Whilst emergency health care is free to all, rehabilitation and routine in patient care is subject to charging if you are a non EU resident. This is why when you now get a letter for an appointment you are asked to bring proof of identity (passport) and address. Several million pounds is owned by non EU nationals for health care throughout the country and many trusts have not been recording these patients or collecting money.

An acquaintance of mine received a bill for ?5,000 as his non EU wife was not eligible for maternity care - this was the cost of her ante natal and post natal care. He paid the money in instalments. Another friend told a story that whilst she was working for the NHS they discovered that 20 births were registered from the same address in Deptford which made them suspicious - they found that pregnant women were travelling to this address from Africa in order to have free maternity care. The owner of the property charged the women who were staying there.

There needs to be a system to recoup some of the costs from 'health tourists' Many years ago in France whilst on holiday, my husband needed an emergency doctor. We had our EU card but were still charged a notional amount for care and had to pay for a prescription - which we claimed back when returned home. Whilst we do not want to go the American Way - proving that you have the financial means of paying for medical care, perhaps we need to consider that all non EU national have to have medical insurance before they are treated and that non emergency care is only provided if payments are made up front.

My family have always had good care from Kings and both of my children were born there. Admittedly on some wards there are staff members who have an attitude problem when it comes to patient care, but the doctors, physios, OTs, Speech and Language Therapists, Specialist Nurses and dieticians have on the whole have been and are extremely professional and caring.

Princess Royal's financial failings were long before Kings took over, my daughter worked there and was frustrated that essential documents could not be printed or photo copied as there was no money for paper/printer ink. Office equipment (staplers/hole punchers/note pads, pens etc) had to be provided by individual staff as no budget for stationery. Electronic Patient Records (EPR) were very slow to come to all the wards at Princess Royal and when I had to visit patients there I had to wade through piles of paper files. Princess Royal's car parking fees are extremely high so they should be getting a decent return from the car parks. Orpington Hospital has reasonable hourly costs for parking.

M & S and all the other companies now at Kings should generate some rental income. I also suggest that heating costs be looked at as in some areas the heat is overbearing. Automatic lighting in toilets and other low use areas to reduce electricity bills.

[wulfhound]

I'd cut ALL foreign aid NOW and spend this money on the needs of the UK.

Halfway serious question...

If the people of Dhaka and Mogadishu are somehow not human enough to be deserving of our help, why spend our tax money on Darlington and Motherwell while there are people who'd go hungry in Peckham and West Norwood were it not for the food banks?

[natty01295]

I thought they invested 80 million in the hospital

What Happened?

I thought it supposed to be good

Floors/Errors in the health system

Its been CRAP for me And my family

I wish it was Good!! And helped my Family

But Not been good there!

I / We should have gone to another hospital!!!!

I am so Sad 😔

[dbboy]

Maybe rubbish for you but NOT for others.

[natty01295]

Caused me a Lot of grief

[Peckhampam]

Natty, if you are unhappy with service you or your family has received at Kings please do contact their Patient Liaison team. They can help with problems that you have not been able to sort out with staff on a ward or in a clinic.

Or, if you want to make a complaint, they can tell you how to do so. They can also tell you about independent organisations that can help you with a complaint. Tel 020 3299 3601.

Pam

[PeckhamRose]

I am sorry to read of the negative posts. People with axes to grind. I have mentioned my two ideas before to KCH itself but since a Governor may be reading this, (I am a Member of KCH but no time to do governor work so hats off to you!) maybe it could get through that way.

1) I have to have an ointment on my skin to numb it before procedures including injections. A small tube of this cream is made out to the ward and not the patient. Then the nurse opens it, applies the cream to my arm, puts the lid on THEN HAS TO DISPOSE OF THE REST OF THE CREAM. This is nuts.

2) Every time a letter is written to our doctors, following a consultation, a copy is sent to us. This copy letter comes with a separate sheet of paper telling you that it is the Trust's policy to send copy letters to patients. That information could be put at the bottom of the original letter, or on the back, saving hundreds thousands ( ? )

of sheets of paper.

These are two tiny examples of wastage. I am sure there are many more.

[rendelharris]

PeckhamRose Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> 2) Every time a letter is written to our doctors,

> following a consultation, a copy is sent to us.

> This copy letter comes with a separate sheet of

> paper telling you that it is the Trust's policy to

> send copy letters to patients. That information

> could be put at the bottom of the original letter,

> or on the back, saving hundreds thousands ( ? )

> of sheets of paper.

>

> These are two tiny examples of wastage. I am sure

> there are many more.

Very true - and also (I'm rather a frequent flyer for reasons to boring to explain) the letters say you can opt out of this service; wanting to save NHS money I've asked five times for them not to bother sending me copies to no avail! I've also suggested that as I have to have bloodtests once a fortnight minimum that they could email me the results instead of sending a paper copy...apparently not. I have nothing but praise for the staff at King's who have, very literally, saved my life three times, as well as patched me up more times than I care to remember during my rugby career, but the wastage is sinful.

And don't get me started on ludicrous huge televisions showing Homes Under the Hammer which nobody watches and just serve to cause annoyance...absurd.

[PeckhamRose]

Yup, cause annoyance waste electricity radiation etc. Some books would be good. But I asked once and magazines can spread germs so can't do that! And ditto life saved a few times there.

[Penguin68]

Actually the TVs may cause distractions to those patients very aware that they are ill and worried - I imagine there are actual research findings on this sort of thing, but taking people's minds off their immediate problems or concerns is not a bad thing - indeed even if it hugely annoys you that is a distraction in itself.

There are clearly ways in which the admin could be more effective - paper and posting must be more expensive than e-mail (the letters will have been prepared on a computer and presumably are stored digitally) - so long as those for whom e-mails are not something they want or are used to are catered for the remainder might well opt-in for electronic communication with some savings for the Trust.

[rendelharris]

Penguin68 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Actually the TVs may cause distractions to those

> patients very aware that they are ill and worried

Speaking for myself, I've twice sat in King's waiting to hear if I had cancer and they've done nothing but annoy the crap out of me! And seriously, not a soul watches them - furthermore I once asked if they could be turned over to Wimbledon when they were showing some dumbarsed property show and was told (this is true, I swear) that the receptionist didn't "have the authority" to change the channel! Some departments don't have them and the result is a much more relaxed atmosphere.

[flocker spotter]

I have nothing but praise for Kings. We are so fortunate to have such a superb hospital on our doorstep. Its magnificent team works extremely hard to solve whatever problems are thrown at them. I am currently under the emergency two week wait clinic and have appointments at 7:30 at night and on Saturday morning, showing how much they are willing to pull out all the stops for people requiring urgent care.

Finally, I can't help wanting to reply to the silly posts about foreign aid. Foreign aid is usually given in trade deals and financial loans. Offering Kings hospital a deal on a bunch of Perkins engines is hardly going to solve the problem. It is the Daily Mail and UKIP that have created the idea that foreign aid is cash. It never is and should not be considered as such.

[Sue]

PeckhamRose Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Yup, cause annoyance waste electricity radiation

> etc. Some books would be good. But I asked once

> and magazines can spread germs so can't do that!

> And ditto life saved a few times there.

I don't understand re the magazines.

Kings' volunteers take them round to in patients.

I take my magazines down there now since I found this out. They have an actual collection place for them.

[Everett_Rob]

great hospital and great work!

[Glenham]

I don?t understand how Lord Kerslake has resigned (or pushed) and still the current CEO, Medical Director, and Chief Financial Officer of Kings are still in their posts. Surely, their collective incompetence would make their positions untenable. It?s extraordinary that on the 1st April of 2017 they were forecasting a deficit of ?38 million pounds for the financial year 17/18 and yet 8 months down the line it has risen to ?95 million. I am no accountant, but surely those in positions of authority were telling a lot of lies at the beginning of the Financial year. Kings been placed in special measures by NHS Improvement will hopefully put them back on the right track and get rid of the toxic top management they currently have. It is Kings hard working Nurses and Healthcare assistants that I feel sorry for as they are truly the champions of an otherwise great hospital.

[Peckhampam]

Hi

For info - the Chief financial officer's resignation was accepted a couple of months ago.

[hoser]

You are confusing non-EU visitors and residents. Legal residents don't pay for the NHS, no matter what their nationality. However, new non-EU visa applicants must pay a health surcharge.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-overseas-visitors-hospital-charging-regulations/summary-of-changes-made-to-the-way-the-nhs-charges-overseas-visitors-for-nhs-hospital-care

Pugwash Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Although not employed by the NHS I spent 20 years

> working mainly in Kings but also had to include

> Lewisham, Princess Royal, Orpington, UCL and other

> hospitals in my visits.

>

> Whilst emergency health care is free to all,

> rehabilitation and routine in patient care is

> subject to charging if you are a non EU resident.

> This is why when you now get a letter for an

> appointment you are asked to bring proof of

> identity (passport) and address. Several million

> pounds is owned by non EU nationals for health

> care throughout the country and many trusts have

> not been recording these patients or collecting

> money.

>

> An acquaintance of mine received a bill for ?5,000

> as his non EU wife was not eligible for maternity

> care - this was the cost of her ante natal and

> post natal care. He paid the money in instalments.

> Another friend told a story that whilst she was

> working for the NHS they discovered that 20 births

> were registered from the same address in Deptford

> which made them suspicious - they found that

> pregnant women were travelling to this address

> from Africa in order to have free maternity care.

> The owner of the property charged the women who

> were staying there.

>

> There needs to be a system to recoup some of the

> costs from 'health tourists' Many years ago in

> France whilst on holiday, my husband needed an

> emergency doctor. We had our EU card but were

> still charged a notional amount for care and had

> to pay for a prescription - which we claimed back

> when returned home. Whilst we do not want to go

> the American Way - proving that you have the

> financial means of paying for medical care,

> perhaps we need to consider that all non EU

> national have to have medical insurance before

> they are treated and that non emergency care is

> only provided if payments are made up front.

>

> My family have always had good care from Kings and

> both of my children were born there. Admittedly on

> some wards there are staff members who have an

> attitude problem when it comes to patient care,

> but the doctors, physios, OTs, Speech and Language

> Therapists, Specialist Nurses and dieticians have

> on the whole have been and are extremely

> professional and caring.

>

> Princess Royal's financial failings were long

> before Kings took over, my daughter worked there

> and was frustrated that essential documents could

> not be printed or photo copied as there was no

> money for paper/printer ink. Office equipment

> (staplers/hole punchers/note pads, pens etc) had

> to be provided by individual staff as no budget

> for stationery. Electronic Patient Records (EPR)

> were very slow to come to all the wards at

> Princess Royal and when I had to visit patients

> there I had to wade through piles of paper files.

> Princess Royal's car parking fees are extremely

> high so they should be getting a decent return

> from the car parks. Orpington Hospital has

> reasonable hourly costs for parking.

>

> M & S and all the other companies now at Kings

> should generate some rental income. I also suggest

> that heating costs be looked at as in some areas

> the heat is overbearing. Automatic lighting in

> toilets and other low use areas to reduce

> electricity bills.

[natty01295]

I am not happy with the Health care/Service There

[PeckhamRose]

natty01295 I think we get the message. We can do nothing about it. Go to the Patient & Liaison Service as we can't do anything but slowly get annoyed at your repetitive postings.

[natty01295]

Peckhamrose Wrote;

natty01295 I think we get the message. We can do nothing about it. Go to the Patient & Liaison Service as we can't do anything but slowly get annoyed at your repetitive postings.

--------------------

Humanist Funeral Celebrant

WHY ARE YOU ANNOYED?

[natty01295]

I will And I have!!!