tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post554348104277116009..comments2024-03-26T09:38:39.888+00:00Comments on Borthlas: Not so obviousJohn Dixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447224248021209852noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-51792859901979920802012-04-18T16:29:00.194+01:002012-04-18T16:29:00.194+01:00Anon,
Thank you for that cogent comment - and I a...Anon,<br /><br />Thank you for that cogent comment - and I agree with Siônnyn. But of course the questions being asked - and I thought they came from the WM rather than the Lib Dems who were merely invited to comment on them - are intended neither to inform nor to contribute to debate, simply to seek sensationalist headlines and continue what looks increasingly like a campaign against the NHS.John Dixonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07447224248021209852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-89782627231519644412012-04-18T16:06:55.442+01:002012-04-18T16:06:55.442+01:00Asking Kirsty to ask a meaningful question - whils...Asking Kirsty to ask a meaningful question - whilst a good suggestion- is unlikely to produce any meaningful result. Far better is to do what you have done and shown just how ludicrous she is. Good work.Siônnynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00021974709953206048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-56092836517499260872012-04-18T08:26:43.525+01:002012-04-18T08:26:43.525+01:00What IS obvious that the costs of providing radiot...What IS obvious that the costs of providing radiotherapy is a fixed establishment cost, both in terms of clinical skills and equipment. This is why there is a specialist unit covering South and West Wales at Velindre. In a private business it would be logical to apportion this fixed cost to customers to ascertain 'value for money', and it would allow discounting of the cost at shoulder periods and premium prices for customers at peak times. In this way maximum utilisation of the fixed establishment can achieved. It would also indicate whether it's worth maintaining such a fixed establishment in-house, or out-source. Trouble is, with the NHS customers do not choose when they are ill, and how much use of the establishment will be required when they walk in the door. Powys Health Board figures show it cost £3k per patient to treat in Wales, but £13k per patient to treat in England. Is Kirsty Williams suggesting that the Welsh NHS is four times more efficient than England ? No! It's more likely that in Powys, the more advanced , and by definition, more costly treatment is referred in Liverpool. It actually proves the point that the most effective efficiency measure is not cost per patient, or spend by Health Board, in any given year. A more suitable analysis would be 'benchmarking' the overall cost by clinical outcome, but such an analysis is unlikely to provide politicians with soudbite rhetoric. The real question is how the Velindre Health Centre compares with, for example, with a peer establishment like Beatson Centre in Glasgow. You don't get meaningful answers if you don't ask meaningful questions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-59754701338089342032012-04-17T14:31:41.799+01:002012-04-17T14:31:41.799+01:00It seems to me that Velindre trust could answer al...It seems to me that Velindre trust could answer all these questions regarding quantative breakdown, so why didn't they ask them? Not knowing how many patients end up on radiotherapy and which are given chemo therapy once they have been referred doesn't seem surprising at all, unless they are referred back. <br /><br />Unlike the NHS in England, price is not a priority in Wales when treating seriously ill people, and it seems quite reasonable that the feedback on each patient's treatment, and the cost of that treatment, once it has been outsourced to another NHS entity should be a matter for them, and the cost of feeding back individual details, and the attendant record keeping at the originating trust would be a bit pointless, and costly. The only point of it as far as I can see would be to answer questions from the LibDems. I hope the Assembly has records of this information at the marco level, though.Siônnynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00021974709953206048noreply@blogger.com