Random Irritations

Imurg

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trying to book a driving test….absolutely nothing available in 5 test centres for the next 20 weeks - what the hell is going on!!
Simple answer is that DVSA haven't got over the 5 month covid lockdown mess after more than 4 years...
No tests for 5 months meant a 5 month + the normal 6-8 weeks wait when we started back.
Because of the scarcity of tests the kids were taking anything they could get even though they weren't ready, failing and adding to the numbers needing tests.
They've tried to recruit examiners but ..
A. They're not paying enough
B. It would only be a shortish term job as once waiting times were back to normal they wouldn't be necessary
Honestly, I would take 5-6 months as the normal from now on......
And don't get me started on the pondlife buying up tests and selling them on at a profit.....
 

Robster59

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NHS procurement system. They basically replace on a like-for-like basis. You want to buy the old, inefficient kit that costs more to run and provides more risk for patient samples? Fine. You want to get the more efficient kit that is a quarter of the cost to run and provides up to 10 times more protection for patient samples? Oh No, you have to justify that. So what do people do? They push against the open door and order the old stuff.
It's incredibly frustrating and depressing.
 

AmandaJR

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NHS procurement system. They basically replace on a like-for-like basis. You want to buy the old, inefficient kit that costs more to run and provides more risk for patient samples? Fine. You want to get the more efficient kit that is a quarter of the cost to run and provides up to 10 times more protection for patient samples? Oh No, you have to justify that. So what do people do? They push against the open door and order the old stuff.
It's incredibly frustrating and depressing.

Sadly not surprising...
 

BiMGuy

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NHS procurement system. They basically replace on a like-for-like basis. You want to buy the old, inefficient kit that costs more to run and provides more risk for patient samples? Fine. You want to get the more efficient kit that is a quarter of the cost to run and provides up to 10 times more protection for patient samples? Oh No, you have to justify that. So what do people do? They push against the open door and order the old stuff.
It's incredibly frustrating and depressing.
And this is why the NHS will never have enough money and will always be ‘in crisis’!
 

HomerJSimpson

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NHS procurement system. They basically replace on a like-for-like basis. You want to buy the old, inefficient kit that costs more to run and provides more risk for patient samples? Fine. You want to get the more efficient kit that is a quarter of the cost to run and provides up to 10 times more protection for patient samples? Oh No, you have to justify that. So what do people do? They push against the open door and order the old stuff.
It's incredibly frustrating and depressing.
Our technicians fight a losing battle every day to get consumerables onto the unit. They are invariably out of stock on all NHS suppliers and sourcing elsewhere is expensive
 

Hobbit

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And this is why the NHS will never have enough money and will always be ‘in crisis’!

Absolutely spot on… and that’s because NHS Supply Chain is a misnomer, a con. It’s privately owned and has been for around 20 years. When originally privatised it was owned by DHL but a bit like the rail companies it could be taken back under the state umbrella. It was taken back ‘in-house’ around 2019 only to be sold off again almost immediately to a mate/donor - what? Cronyism? Who would believe it?

The concept of bulk buying into central hubs worked at driving prices down from the supplier but that saving wasn’t passed on to the NHS. DHL charged the supplier to be on the approved supplier list AND insisted on discounts for bulk purchasing. It then charged the NHS Trusts 11% on top of the purchase price. That was NHS Supply Chain under DHL. I’m not sure of the mechanics under LCCS but there’ll be little difference as the lemon has already had the juice squeezed out of it.

But don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s run by the NHS.

Edit: so how have the suppliers maintained their profitability? By just selling the basic product to the NHS Supply Chain. Once upon a time a deal would be sweetened by including accessories either FOC or at a discount. Occasionally, it might be buy 10 and get 2 free. All those local deals disappeared years ago. The NHS pays a barely discounted price, and relies on the hub operating an efficient ‘just-in-time’ stockholding.
 
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Whereditgo

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It was M25 and M1 as far as Derby. Glad I didn’t have to tag on the M1 north of Derby/Nottingham - that would have tipped me over the edge.

The M25 has been largely roadwork free between the M1 and Dartford for quite a while now, but the cones are out either side of the M11 for a considerable distance at the moment, and seem to be extending by the day.

A lot of the intended work seems to be adding emergency refuges now there has been an acceptance that smart motorways are inherently unsafe.
430 mile round trip yesterday M1, M42 and M5 and back again - fortunately I was also towing a trailer so the miles and miles of 50 mph roadwork =s didn't affect me as much as it normally would have.
 

Robster59

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Absolutely spot on… and that’s because NHS Supply Chain is a misnomer, a con. It’s privately owned and has been for around 20 years. When originally privatised it was owned by DHL but a bit like the rail companies it could be taken back under the state umbrella. It was taken back ‘in-house’ around 2019 only to be sold off again almost immediately to a mate/donor - what? Cronyism? Who would believe it?

The concept of bulk buying into central hubs worked at driving prices down from the supplier but that saving wasn’t passed on to the NHS. DHL charged the supplier to be on the approved supplier list AND insisted on discounts for bulk purchasing. It then charged the NHS Trusts 11% on top of the purchase price. That was NHS Supply Chain under DHL. I’m not sure of the mechanics under LCCS but there’ll be little difference as the lemon has already had the juice squeezed out of it.

But don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s run by the NHS.

Edit: so how have the suppliers maintained their profitability? By just selling the basic product to the NHS Supply Chain. Once upon a time a deal would be sweetened by including accessories either FOC or at a discount. Occasionally, it might be buy 10 and get 2 free. All those local deals disappeared years ago. The NHS pays a barely discounted price, and relies on the hub operating an efficient ‘just-in-time’ stockholding.
The thing that annoys me, and this really sounds trite, is that I genuinely try to sell the customer what is best for them. Of course I want them to buy our equipment, but if I think they are asking for something that is not the optimum for their needs, I'll have a discussion with them and explain why a different model is better in every (and I mean every) way. If, in the end, they go with the other option then I will sell them the other option. It's interesting in what you say, in that I have seen the number of NHS tenders drop markedly over the last couple of years. They seem to have adopted this model of replace like for like rather than looking at alternatives. It promotes lethargy and in the end increases their long-term running costs and reduces safety margin for patient samples. The people I speak to in the hospitals are now resigned to this situation and have enough to do without trying to fight or change the system.
I have encountered this at three different NHS institutions in the last week. I know that the procurement has been farmed out to third parties now. I deal with them and their response time is awful and the order comes out wrong, so we have to go back and get it corrected.
All that money wasted that can be used for faster and better treatment for patients. I despair.
 
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