Hundreds of thousands of elderly people are losing their “dignity” because they are being unnecessarily admitted to hospital, the Health Minister warns today.
In an article for The Daily Telegraph, Dr Dan Poulter says that up to a third of elderly hospital patients should be cared for at home.
He insists, ahead of today’s introduction of controversial NHS reforms, that putting doctors in charge of budgets will lead pensioners to be admitted to hospital.
He says that unnecessary hospital admissions are caused because frail, elderly people, often with long-term conditions, are not treated or cared for in the community for financial reasons. Their conditions deteriorate and emergency hospital care becomes necessary.
The Health Minister believes that when doctors are in charge of patient care, they will help pensioners sooner to prevent the need for later, more expensive treatment.
Dr Poulter, who still also practises as a hospital doctor, says that he has experienced how the target culture of the NHS has threatened patient care.
In today’s article, he suggests that pensioners are the biggest losers in the current system and that urgent changes are now necessary.
“How we better deliver care to people with long term illnesses and disabilities is the big challenge facing our NHS, and there is growing evidence that up to a third of older patients currently in our hospitals do not need to be there.”
From today, GPs will be charged with commissioning treatment for their patients throughout the NHS.
Dr Poulter says that most patients will not notice any difference in “front-line services”, but that having medical experts in charge of financial decisions will ultimately drive up standards.
“Clinicians understand the needs of patients much better than some managers have in the past,” he says.
However, ministers are braced for a wave of opposition to the reforms, amid claims from Labour that it is “commercialising” the health service – as GPs can send patients for private treatment.
Andy Burnham, the shadow Health Secretary, said last night that he would not repeal the overall structure of the new NHS if Labour is elected in 2015. But he added: “David Cameron has placed the National Health Service on a fast-track to fragmentation and privatisation.”
Labour warned that handing over public health to local authorities, another part of the reforms, could be “a car crash”.
Shadow public health minister Diane Abbott said: “The Government only announced the public health financial allocations a few weeks ago. This was far too late, and the distribution has been blatantly unfair.”
Source: telegraph.co.uk

The findings come on the eve of reforms which will hand NHS budgets to groups of GPs, who will decide which hospital and community services to fund and will be able to wield the axe on those which are substandard.
Pasien dan para pengunjung Rumah Sakit Umum Darah (RSUD) Gunung Tua, di Jalan Lintas Gunung Tua-Portibi, mengeluhkan krisis air bersih di rumah sakit itu. Air di kamar mandi pasien dan kamar umum sudah tidak berfungsi sejak beberapa bulan terakhir.
University of Indonesia (UI) will build a state of the art hospital within its Depok campus compound, slated to be opened in 2015, a university official said.
Jakarta – Untuk membantu anak-anak dengan kanker mendapatkan perawatan khusus yang prima, Yayasan Sentuhan Kasih Anak Indonesia (YSKAI) akan membangun ruang rawat inap khusus anak-anak dengan kanker.
Jakarta, PKMK – 12 RSUD memperoleh penghargaan Citra Pelayanan Prima Tahun 2012 dari Kementerian Pendayagunaan Aparatur Negara dan Reformasi Birokrasi (Kemenpan). Lokasi RSUD itu tersebar di sejumlah propinsi. Penghargaan tersebut diserahkan oleh Azwar Abubakar, Menteri Negara Pendayagunaan Aparatur Negara dan Reformasi Birokrasi RI, dalam acara Penyerahan Penghargaan Akuntabilitas Kinerja dan Pelayanan Publik. Penghargaan tersebut berlangsung di Balai Kartini, Jakarta, hari ini (Kamis, 28/3).
KOTA-Wakil rakyat rupanya semakin jengkel dengan pelayanan yang diberikan RSUD dr Moh. Anwar Sumenep terhadap masyarakat. Pasalnya, banyak ditemukan pasien yang tidak puas dengan pelayanan rumah
PONTIANAK – Rumah Sakit Umum Daerah Soedarso Pontianak tetap menjadi rumah sakit rujukan tertinggi di Kalbar pada 2012. Kunjungan rawat inap di sana berdasarkan bed occupancy rate (BOR) mencapai 79 persen.
Jakarta : Mendekati masa pemilihan umum, baik itu di Daerah dan Nasional, banyak calon pemimpin yang mulai mengumbar-umbar janjinya jika kelak ia terpilih menjadi pemimpin. Salah satu janji calon pemimpin yang paling populer adalah ‘Pengobatan Gratis’.





