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Hobbit

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I've never understood why we don't have a central processing location for all NHS orders. The NHS is such a massive organisation, that would be ordering in massive quantities, that they would be able to get huge discounts on the upfront cost of everything from plasters and lightbulbs to ECG machines to toilet paper. Have a massive warehouse in Birmingham that orders in everything that's needed and ships it out to the individual facilities across the country.

“We” do have central purchasing for the NHS and have had for about 20 years. Called NHS Supply Chain, and set up by Tony Blair’s Labour govt, majority DHL owned. The Tories have since re-nationalised. It even negotiates service contracts. There used to be one large facility near Leeds, next to the M1 but there are now 3(?).
 

Bunkermagnet

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This is often used against the NHS, if it were to be true you would expect that other similar economies would be paying less for their healthcare, where the reality is we are near the bottom of that league. The US, the often lauded as the land of efficiency, pay more than twice what is paid in the UK yet have poorer outcomes..
Perhaps it’s used because of user experienc.
Both of my daughters have needed crutches at various times in their life. Each time it’s “where do we return them to?” with the answer being “we don’t want them back, through them away”
My youngest daughter has Chrones, and after her last major surgery the amount of supplies Sent through wrong including drugs and each time when asked the same question about returning them, it’s “throw them away”.
Now what are you supposed to take from instances like that? The NHS wastes horrendous amount, there is no other answer you can give.
 

Bunkermagnet

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For class 1 drivers only.
A very good friend of mine does class 1, moving very large plant abou. He is changing employers and going up to £13 and hour. He goes out Sunday afternoon, and gets home Friday evening. It’s not a glamorous life and definitely isn’t that well paid and that includes the small extra for each night away.
He doesn’t know any company paying £35 an hour for class 1 drivers, a £1k joining bonus yes, but nothing like £35 an hour.
 

williamalex1

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A very good friend of mine does class 1, moving very large plant abou. He is changing employers and going up to £13 and hour. He goes out Sunday afternoon, and gets home Friday evening. It’s not a glamorous life and definitely isn’t that well paid and that includes the small extra for each night away.
He doesn’t know any company paying £35 an hour for class 1 drivers, a £1k joining bonus yes, but nothing like £35 an hour.
A friend told me that's what Tesco were offering their class1 drivers, maybe he was mistaken and it is only a rumour.
 

pauljames87

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A friend told me that's what Tesco were offering their class1 drivers, maybe he was mistaken and it is only a rumour.

It's quite easily true. Supply and demand. There is a massive shortage of class one drivers so they are getting more money offered to tempt them to drive for that company

When we had more drivers they were paid a lot less
 

Mudball

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Perhaps it’s used because of user experienc.
Both of my daughters have needed crutches at various times in their life. Each time it’s “where do we return them to?” with the answer being “we don’t want them back, through them away”
My youngest daughter has Chrones, and after her last major surgery the amount of supplies Sent through wrong including drugs and each time when asked the same question about returning them, it’s “throw them away”.
Now what are you supposed to take from instances like that? The NHS wastes horrendous amount, there is no other answer you can give.

Maybe someone like @Ethan may know more about this.
1) For old kits like crutches, they may or maynot be recycled
2) opened half strips of meds are never recycled.
3) 300m in annual loss due to unopened meds (Source: https://www.recyclenow.com/what-to-do-with/medicines-0 )
4) There seems to be bits that can be avoided e.g. being sent the wrong meds.

i am sure every bit that can be saved should be or is being looked at. However, given the operational size of the NHS, a level of waste is unavoidable.
 

Ethan

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Maybe someone like @Ethan may know more about this.
1) For old kits like crutches, they may or maynot be recycled
2) opened half strips of meds are never recycled.
3) 300m in annual loss due to unopened meds (Source: https://www.recyclenow.com/what-to-do-with/medicines-0 )
4) There seems to be bits that can be avoided e.g. being sent the wrong meds.

i am sure every bit that can be saved should be or is being looked at. However, given the operational size of the NHS, a level of waste is unavoidable.

Crutches are often recycled, people who hurt their ankle, say, are often given crutches at the ED and are often asked to return them. Medicine is wasted in two ways - given to people who don't take it at all or properly, and given to people who then have their prescription changed. The NHS is obsessed by the latter, which I think is less important, and in an attempt to limit it, issue short duration prescriptions requiring patients to get them refilled more often than they need, so that wastes people's time instead. I think you can recycle blister packs, the metallic packs where you push a pill out through the foil, at Superdrug.

On the NI funding, pity that the chance to clamp down on tax evasion, offshoring, non-doms and all that stuff was missed. Yet again.
 

GB72

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Crutches are often recycled, people who hurt their ankle, say, are often given crutches at the ED and are often asked to return them. Medicine is wasted in two ways - given to people who don't take it at all or properly, and given to people who then have their prescription changed. The NHS is obsessed by the latter, which I think is less important, and in an attempt to limit it, issue short duration prescriptions requiring patients to get them refilled more often than they need, so that wastes people's time instead. I think you can recycle blister packs, the metallic packs where you push a pill out through the foil, at Superdrug.

On the NI funding, pity that the chance to clamp down on tax evasion, offshoring, non-doms and all that stuff was missed. Yet again.


Based on the fact that it is now pretty painless to have your prescription delivered once you have done the original set up, is it more viable these days to have shorter duration prescriptions?

My biggest frustration on waste is with my blood pressure meds. One of the pills comes in 14 day blister packs (days marked on it, very helpful) whilst the other comes in blister packs of 10 (3 in a box) and so there is always a couple left over at the end and I wish I would say that I am frugal enough to save those 2 for the following month but, to be honest, they are often wasted when I open a new prescription. Surely just packing all pills that are taken regularly in a 7 or 14 pill blister pack makes sense.
 

doublebogey7

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Perhaps it’s used because of user experienc.
Both of my daughters have needed crutches at various times in their life. Each time it’s “where do we return them to?” with the answer being “we don’t want them back, through them away”
My youngest daughter has Chrones, and after her last major surgery the amount of supplies Sent through wrong including drugs and each time when asked the same question about returning them, it’s “throw them away”.
Now what are you supposed to take from instances like that? The NHS wastes horrendous amount, there is no other answer you can give.
I can give many examples of private buisinesses who do the same, usually because its not worth the cost of collecting wrongly delivered items and having the infrastructure in place to ensure thwy can be re-issued. Though sometimes of course its because a lack of efficiency, indeed a friend of mine has recently acquired a brand new electric trolley after a friend had two delivered by a very well known golf retailer. No organisation I have had the pleasure of dealing with has been 100% efficient, But my own experuence is that for the money we contribute the NHS is better than most.
 

Ethan

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Based on the fact that it is now pretty painless to have your prescription delivered once you have done the original set up, is it more viable these days to have shorter duration prescriptions?

My biggest frustration on waste is with my blood pressure meds. One of the pills comes in 14 day blister packs (days marked on it, very helpful) whilst the other comes in blister packs of 10 (3 in a box) and so there is always a couple left over at the end and I wish I would say that I am frugal enough to save those 2 for the following month but, to be honest, they are often wasted when I open a new prescription. Surely just packing all pills that are taken regularly in a 7 or 14 pill blister pack makes sense.

Most pills are packed in 7 or 14 day packs. The prescriptions should be driven by time rather than pack size. I recently had to point out to my local practice that they seem to think that 12 prescriptions of 28 days will cover a calendar year, but it is 29 (or 30 in a leap year) days short, and therefore they are doing annual medical reviews a month earlier each year and doing too many of them.
 

SocketRocket

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My BIL is a class 1 driver and started driving for Aldi. He said they are the best for pay and conditions he has ever worked for.
 
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It's quite easily true. Supply and demand. There is a massive shortage of class one drivers so they are getting more money offered to tempt them to drive for that company

When we had more drivers they were paid a lot less

I have family connections with the haulage industry and am being told that the media are massively overstating the situation.

There are difficulties in getting recruits trained and qualified and some experienced drivers have left and, of those, some have returned home. Many of the latter had always intended to.

But I am told the overall shortage is nowhere near as bad as suggested.

As I said this is what I hear from a haulage operator.
 

Tashyboy

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A very good friend of mine does class 1, moving very large plant abou. He is changing employers and going up to £13 and hour. He goes out Sunday afternoon, and gets home Friday evening. It’s not a glamorous life and definitely isn’t that well paid and that includes the small extra for each night away.
He doesn’t know any company paying £35 an hour for class 1 drivers, a £1k joining bonus yes, but nothing like £35 an hour.
BM, is he saying he is on £13 an hour For class1
 

Bunkermagnet

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BM, is he saying he is on £13 an hour For class1
That is exactly what I am saying, £13 and some pence an hour. He just got an increase through changing employers so he's got a £2 hour increase. I couldn't believe how poorly paid he is for the skill he needs moving that plant around the roads without touching anything.
 

clubchamp98

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Makes me laugh when you hear business owners moaning they can’t get skilled staff.
Why not try training your own!
They want someone else to pay for the training then leave to go and work for them.
Bricklayers are a rare thing these days because firms just brought them in from abroad.
Apprenticeships were the norm once .
Firms used to train the staff they needed for the future, now they just poach somebody else’s.
We had 16 ,four in every year, four days in work and one in college.
It’s cost cutting consequences. And bad management.
 

Tashyboy

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That is exactly what I am saying, £13 and some pence an hour. He just got an increase through changing employers so he's got a £2 hour increase. I couldn't believe how poorly paid he is for the skill he needs moving that plant around the roads without touching anything.

Just spoke to lad, ( come out of hospital today having had his appendix out yesterday) £13 is the basic rate around here but there is extra rates if you go over certain hours. I know the government has changed the laws to get more drivers going into class 1. But that will not stop drivers from leaving. It really is a shocking occupation if you are a family man.
 

SocketRocket

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Just spoke to lad, ( come out of hospital today having had his appendix out yesterday) £13 is the basic rate around here but there is extra rates if you go over certain hours. I know the government has changed the laws to get more drivers going into class 1. But that will not stop drivers from leaving. It really is a shocking occupation if you are a family man.
The question to ask is: are Truck Drivers who leave going to get better paid jobs.
 
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