Family Nursing patients may have to provide own dressings
Monday 23rd May 2011, 2:59PM BST.
Union leader Nick Corbel says paitents could be put at risk
PATIENTS using Family Nursing and Home Care may soon have to buy their own medical products after the charity announced cuts to its service.
In a letter sent to FNHC patients on Monday, the charity’s finance director, Andy Cook, said that there were plans to get patients to purchase their own dressings from their local pharmacy.
In the letter Mr Cook said that the range of dressings and other medical items distributed by FNHC district nurses would be reduced to ‘conform to an agreed list of products between us and Health’.
The move has been heavily criticised by Unite union official Nick Corbel, who has warned that patients will be put at risk.
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Surely patients requiring after care from surgical procedures or who are under the care of a consultant at the Hospital should be taken care of by the hospital and not farmed out to the district nurse.
Failing that, why isn’t the hospital providing these dressings, oh yes, the hospital has made savings in this area to the detriment of Family nursing who year on year have there budget cut.
You can see what is going to happen, those less well off will go with out, infections will set in creating a bed shortage at the hospital where these patients will need to be treated with 24 hour care and medication, then putting more of a strain on H&SS, just to save a couple of pence.
Jersey, life enriching……………….. as long as you are well off!
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Of course Corbel woudl say this, his philosophy is one whereby he expects someone else to do and pay for what you need.
If they can’t afford it is one thing, but that woudl be very very rare indeed. Of course people should pay for their own requirements. User pays I am afraid. Best philosophy.
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My in-laws use this service as my father in law has a catheter fitted and I think that they shoudl supply the dressign , but charge the cost price for each item. If the family are having problems paying, then there is an impairement allowance which can be claimed. The main injustice is that not all Social Secuity employees are aware of this. Social Security should send someone out to visit all persons who get care from Familty Nursing as a matter of course to tell them of their rights and assist with form filling.
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I think a degree of common sense is required here. If patients can afford to contribute by purchasing dressings they should do so.
However, anyone who has been a carer to a sick, terminally ill patient will know time is not something in abundance. Perhaps the nurses can sell the dressings. If people can afford to buy them they will be happy to help out, it is finding the time and going to a couple of different places for the right ones and the added stress.
Perhaps if they are sold from a man with a van the extra profits can be used to subsidise those that can’t afford it.
Unfortunately all charities have to be run lke a business these days.
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So they should too.
I can’t believe that they are being so self centered. Don’t they realise that we have a finance industry to prop up for goodness sake!
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That is just typical. Senator Ozouf is congratulating himself on how much money he has saved. The sick will now have to pay themselves (or probably through Income Support). And what about the staff who have been made redundant? Who will pay their job seekers allowance. Not such a good saving their then Senator Ozouf.
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Gosh, Jersey is behaving so much like South Africa, next patients will have to bring own bedsheets and family members to take in their meals,change their dressings and provide a padlock for their locker (if lucky to have one!) Oh don’t forget a family member to look for the missing doctor/stay by your bedside, incase you visit the loo only to find bedsheets/food and items missing!
That is if you don’t have medical aid.
If you do you get charged for everything even the tiny plaster!
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I’m sorry but I think I’ve totally lost the plot.I thought patients needing dressings had to be members of the charity and that their dressings are at a subsidised rate to the price paid at pharmacies.Therefore not only do patients pay twice ,FNHC also receives funds from Health for service provision.
Mr Corbel may be sometimes wrong but he is right that if patients have to pay for expensive dressings at pharmacies,they will often use cheaper or do without.
District Nurse are the experts in this area ,not expensive Finance Directors.! Ask the nurses what they think first and get the managers fundraising again .Sounds to me that managers want rid of the service.
Perhaps Mr.Cook who was at M&S doesn’t realise the difference in products.!
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It’s a charity in name only. You have to pay for everything anyway and they get 3m a year from the taxpayer. They can also be jolly unhelpful and officious at times, even when you are a so-called member. This body needs to be disbanded and taken over by health asap. It’s a cop out for the states who should themselves be providing district nurses and not trying to force people to join this ridiculous, out dated and non-patient friendly organisation.
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Bandages/dressings etc. are reasonably priced at any pharmacy. What we need is to lessen the waiting list at the hospital and the amount of time folk spend waiting for an appointment.
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Why can,t family nursing make cuts like the rest of society,, lose a few staff then see if the paitents need to be charged for their services
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Like many charities these days the “executives” can earn substantial salaries, is this the case with this charity or are the “executives” volunteers working for the good of the charity.
Also why should readers be asking these questions surely it should be “investigative” members of the media.
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oh dear the poor old people who helped make this island are getting hit once again, we use this service from family nursing and how grateful we are , when the district nurse call in she had dressing to hand and on her return to she can order what we needed, ,then we could collect the next day, and at a good price, if you buy a the pharmacy it is very expensive and it soon mounts up, as in our case we have to call the doctor for home visit for my mum, she cannot travel to see him, it mounts up every month having the doctor, and now have to buy at the pharmacy, what is this island coming to when it cannot look after the oap,when will the states start thinking of the senior citizens,THE SATES just DO NOT CARE
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Totally agree with Ada.FNHC is either a charity or a States department and decisions need clarity.Why be a member if you have no rights and the committee decide everything.
# No 10 sadly ,your obviously not a nurse.Someone needs the Nurse opinion on this one as some patients,like my late father have leg ulcer problems and the amount and cost of dressings is extortionate to them.For the old its often a choice between food and electricity or changing dressings regularly.
Looks like we’ll be back to the old days when the patients had to rewash bandages.!!
Sad state of affairs for what was once a great charity.
But once agian I ask,if its a charity,where is the fundraising it used to have.
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Real Truthseeker {joke} what a mean spirited little man you are quite sick in my opinion Hitler would have loved you, let the poor rot says a lot about our disgusting government !!!!!!!!!!!!! and you of course RT !!!!
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No. 13 (who cares) If you own a house the States care even less and you are expected to pay a lot more than just a couple of bandages.
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There’s not much point being a member at all. They won’t come out even if you are a member unless a doctor tells them to. They can’t think for themselves.
Goodness knows how they get away with the subscription, particularly now the patient has to provide his or her own dressings.
In a couple of years’ time, we will have the headline “Family Nursing Patients may have to provide their own nurses”
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Eh? What has this got to do with the Head of the Union? Or is he now ‘Head of the Union and all of Jersey’s medical patients’?
This is just a bit of self promotion by Mr Corbel to keep his face in the paper and give him something to do.
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# 17 Reg.What do you mean in a few years.You are now.!
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As far as I am aware, the dressings/bandages etc. are not free with FNHC, a reduced charge is payable and the items have to be collected from their depot.
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It seems to me that this article is merely stating that the States is going to introduce a dressings formulary, just like they have a medicines formulary, i.e. dressings will be available, but the list will be limited to those that are deemed effective and good value for money. The list of medicines available on prescription is considerably reduced from that on the mainland with no perceived adverse effects on the health of the people of Jersey
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#21.Brilliant.So the competent States of Jersey are now skilled community nurses.!! In the UK ,there is no charge for community dressings etc used by Community Nurses.If FNHC’s service to my late father is to be eroded ,then hand it back to the States and they can properly fund this charity that is subsidised by members.
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The problem is further exacerbated by the fact that the staff at the general try to browbeat you into joining this “charity”. As one who had problems with it and didn’t renew the “membership”, this caused some superficial difficulty. I found it rather disturbing that the staff at the general didn’t seem to want to hear that we had had problems with family nursing and didn’t want them in the house. And there is the problem. Any objection is swept aside. That means unaccountabilty. What a dangerous state of affairs, particularly in a medical context. The states need to provide this service and, if necessary dissolve this dangerously autonomous and outdated organisation and take over its staff etc. Sooner rather than later please.
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I always used to wonder as well why they come round the schools being nit nurses. A job for the states, surely?
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FNHC are selective as to whom they chose for free bandages/dressings etc. Regardless of what membership payment you make, if they sniff that you have a bit extra cash they will zoom in and deduct it.
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Perhaps Mr.Ogley and Pollard could donate some dressings to FNHC.?
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Maybe they should start by charging Smackheads for their syringes & their Methadone & not us Tax payers.
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27; The reason why items like needles and substitute drugs are supplied is to stop needle sharing and deaths through withdrawal, both of which would cost the taxpayer many times more than the cost of the items supplied. Do some research please before posting such silly, misinformed and reactionary remarks.
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I wish they’d bring back nit nurses, I’m fed up with spending £12 a pop every time the kids get infested thanks to their friends having the things. I never had nits when I were a lad!
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Michael, have you calmed down yet??? Jeez, you really do have some problem to go off on a rant. If you read the majority of opinions they are also of the same view.
Further you clearly don’t understand the English language, because you inferred I am saying the poor should rot – read my comment you, as you are coming across as at best an idiot! It says if someone is poor, then that is a different story, but if people can afford it, then they shoudl pay.
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I used to like seeing the nit nurse. It was a good excuse to get away from a boring lesson and get a free indian head massage! It took another 20 years before health centres began advertising the indian head massage but it had been invented by the nit nurse years before
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No. 26 I doubt very much if Mr Ogley or Mr Pollard will consider donating some of their golden handshakes to FNHC. More likely to be found swinging around on a hammock doing nothing.
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# No 32.No change then as thats what was obviously in their Job Description.?
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The Nit Nurses haven’t been around the schools for a good 25 years and rightly so. The parents can check their kids hair and treat them if need be with a special shampoo/lotion from the chemist. Tea tree oil works wonders too.
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No. 33 I doubt if ‘doing nothing’ was a viable option on the job description. However, cushioned chairs are provided instead of hammocks.
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I am suprised you are shocked it wont be long before we are paying for everything, Jersey will end up like New Zealand where everything is Franshised even the Ambulance service.
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