There has been much debate by politicians, healthcare professionals, industry leaders and media pundits alike on the subject of NHS budgets, cutting waste and efficiency drives.
I have noticed though, much of the focus, and indeed, the vitriol is generally directed at the NHS senior management and service providers.
What though of the recipients, or ‘customers' of this public sector, tax funded, service?
For over 55 years, through the NHS, this country has enjoyed free healthcare and is something we have grown accustomed to. However, we have also become complacent and as so often is the case, with products and services provided free, they are often taken for granted and neither given the value nor respect they deserve. While the general public, quite rightly, demands a first class NHS, they too can help make it a more efficient one.
For example:
Patients failed to keep nearly six million hospital appointments last year - costing the NHS £575 million. That, by the way, is enough to fund an extra 27,000 nurses or 8,000 doctors.
In Greater Manchester alone, frivolous and hoax calls cost the emergency services £10 million.
Not forgetting non-compliant patients, in other words, those who refuse to complete their treatment regimes, fail to take their medicines or do not use specialist equipment provided to them. These people also cost the NHS millions each year. It is estimated that unused or wasted medicines alone costs the taxpayer as much as £800 million a year.
Perhaps if patients were charged a fee for wasting NHS resources, similar to what the fire service can levy, we might see fewer missed appointments, hoax calls and wasted prescriptions?