tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011346881005913563.post3157417387411257185..comments2023-10-28T07:21:11.555+00:00Comments on Dr Rays focal spot: DoH pulls plug on MercuryHealth mobile scannersDr Xavier Rayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09068308374633857210noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011346881005913563.post-79083243501822617552013-04-08T01:08:06.324+00:002013-04-08T01:08:06.324+00:00The IRS is recommending people to steer clear of t...The IRS is recommending people to steer clear of these statements to save their selves time, electricity and money. Payday cash loans for Laid-off have distinguished features that have made this offer quite beautiful and stunning. Sometimes businesses will even look credit score ahead of they hire you! <a href="http://instant-payday-loans-25.weebly.com" rel="nofollow">sameday loans</a> There are fewer formalities the charges modest, arrears, late payments, plus E credit ratings grades.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011346881005913563.post-43798650244599245422008-05-23T20:24:00.000+00:002008-05-23T20:24:00.000+00:00Thank you anonymous. It is nice to get confirmatio...Thank you anonymous. It is nice to get confirmation of what most of us suspected had been going on from someone with first hand experience.<BR/>We have been advertising for MR radiographers too and I was surprised by the poor applications from Mercury. I spoke to another group who were recruiting and they found the same. The did have some good people, mainly from Australia and S. Africa by the looks of it, but they were vastly outnumbered by people of very inferior ability.<BR/>I wonder whose name appeared on the scan?Dr Xavier Rayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09068308374633857210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011346881005913563.post-18082886341192573582008-02-15T14:39:00.000+00:002008-02-15T14:39:00.000+00:00I've just discovered this blog, and would like to ...I've just discovered this blog, and would like to comment, somewhat belatedly. I'm a radiographer with 10 years of MRI experience, mostly in the NHS but with a couple of years in the private sector, on mobile scanners. When I worked for the private sector we scanned mainly at NHS hospitals with no MRI scanner of their own. I believe the radiographers provided a good service to the patients, no better or worse than the NHS. However, I was involved in preparation for the first wave diagnostics plan and saw for myself the deceit that the private sector was planning to use on the NHS. The ONLY priority was profit. The scans and sequences were reduced to provide the bare minimum of diagnostic information, the fittest and most straight-forward patients hand picked, leaving the NHS to deal with the difficult, disabled and ill patients. This would lead to high throughput on the private scanners and reduced throughput on the NHS, and yet there were plans to directly compare services to further denigrate the NHS. I saw NHS radiographers, managers and patients lied to by the private sector, and unqualified staff recruited - my conscience would not allow me to stay any longer. I returned to the NHS to run an MRI unit, and have never been happier. Our first priority is the patient, not profit. We provide a service which is recognised as first class by patients, GPs and the hospital consultants. I'd like to think that the first wave did the NHS a small favour by reducing the number of outstanding scans to a reasonable level (though this would have been achieved through the NHS had the money been given to us and not the private sector)and that the PCTs have been canny enough to "use and abuse" Mercury et al. I do believe that the future of diagnostics is safe in the NHS, which I didn't until the almost nationwide rejection of the second wave, and I believe that we in the NHS provide a much higher standard of care FOR ALL than the private sector.<BR/>And by the way, we advertised for an extra MRI radiograoher recently to extend our service from the current 10 hours a day to 12. I received a large number of applications from Mercury staff, many of which were almost unintelligible. We shortlisted the three best applications, and none of them showed us the courtesy of turning up for interview.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011346881005913563.post-34099305479172786102007-11-27T20:09:00.000+00:002007-11-27T20:09:00.000+00:00Penny- email me on info@uk-radiologyRegards Xavier...Penny- email me on info@uk-radiology<BR/>Regards XavierDr Xavier Rayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09068308374633857210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011346881005913563.post-46897192515014856112007-11-27T13:43:00.000+00:002007-11-27T13:43:00.000+00:00Hello Doctor Ray. I have gained a wealth of exper...Hello Doctor Ray. I have gained a wealth of experience within Mercury. Bringing my transferable skill set from the private non medical sector. I very much hope I can be of help in supporting you to improve current standards within health care. No doubt your own team need to raise the bar, and we can all learn from sharing best practice. I look forward to hearing from you. Penny chooth.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011346881005913563.post-48483044338295647672007-11-26T22:20:00.000+00:002007-11-26T22:20:00.000+00:00"GOD is good that there is independent sector exis..."<I>GOD is good that there is independent sector exist. They exist because there is a purpose, for patient's to have choice.<BR/>i am a patient who's waiting to be scan @ NHS hospital for about 4 months. a week ago my GP phoned me and given me a choice if i want to have my scan with care uk. and i said yes. then after a day or two care uk diagnostic support center phoned me in and offered one of their site near where i lived. take's only 5 days and i got my scan.</I>"<BR/>Anonymous- you're not Eastern European perchance? Hasn't your managing director told you to stop showing yourself up by posting on my site?<BR/><BR/>The scandal of long waiting times for scans is due to underfunding. Despite the money going into the NHS little gets to the front line after companies like Mercury have lined their pockets and many of the NHS scanners put in had no extra funding for staff. To run a scanner 9-5 in the NHS needs 1.5 radiologists, 2-3 radiographers and a helper. Around £250,000 per year for staff and around £100,000 per year maintenance. <BR/>In Hereford we are trying to attract private patients to raise sufficient money to run our scanner for NHS patients and we are succeeding with an NHS wait of around 3 weeks. We get paid less than Mercury, we do more complex scans and we put money back into the NHS. The taxpayer didn't even pay for our scanner which was given to us by a philanthropist who saw the value in having a local service.<BR/>If we shut down the local DGH goes down with us as no DGH can function without a sophisticated x-ray department now. The same will happen throughout the UK. That won't matter for the sort of person who needs a quick easy operation which can be done in the back of a shipping container but where will the public go for geriatric, paediatric and maternity care and other aspects of healthcare which won't be so attractive to short-term investors?Dr Xavier Rayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09068308374633857210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011346881005913563.post-15815628304199315392007-11-26T21:07:00.000+00:002007-11-26T21:07:00.000+00:00The private sector has allowed some people to get ...The private sector has allowed some people to get their scans quicker. I have no problem with that. The waiting times for non-urgent scans are clearly still a problem in parts of the UK, which needs tackling, and I have no problem with people having add-on insurance to allow them to go private if they don't want to wait. I would also like to think that if I needed a scan on a wonky but not crippling knee I would not have to wait eight months. <BR/><BR/>I suspect all the above makes me a fairly typical UK "consumer".<BR/><BR/>But... I am also a taxpayer. It seems self-evident to me that the ISTCs and large-private-for-profit-health-corporate- set-ups were being paid considerably more than the NHS to do the work (here scans), AND being guaranteed payment even if there was no work for them to do. <BR/><BR/>How exactly is that a good use of my tax money? <BR/><BR/>Whether the people who worked for the private provider were doing a good job clinically and in their patient-facing skills was not relevant to this central question of whether it was a good way to run the need for scans and/or reduce waiting lists. It is hard to believe that giving sweetheart deals to operations like Mercury was really a more-cost-effective option than putting extra money into the existing NHS units. Not to mention the effect on UK training of farming out all the low-complexity <BR/>stuff trainees cut their teeth on.<BR/><BR/>Why do the people who worked for the private provider think it is economically possible to pay them more, give them add-on benefits, have brand new equipment, have them see less people/unit time than the NHS, AND return a profit to the parent company's shareholders?<BR/><BR/>Answer: because the payment for the scans was over the odds, and it was the UK taxpayer picking up the bill.<BR/><BR/>I am fine with "local private enterprises", like the old GP out-of-hours co-ops, or, say, the radiologists in any area forming a local co-op business to "hire" NHS scan time out of hours to do low-risk private work. Clearly it is a daft waste of resource to have £ 1M scanners working only 8 am-6 pm. BUT... I trust for-profit US-style healthcare conglomerates about as far as I can throw them.PhD scientisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00653179299453839890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011346881005913563.post-18810425315218758932007-11-26T20:04:00.000+00:002007-11-26T20:04:00.000+00:00GOD is good that there is independent sector exist...GOD is good that there is independent sector exist. They exist because there is a purpose, for patient's to have choice.<BR/>i am a patient who's waiting to be scan @ NHS hospital for about 4 months. a week ago my GP phoned me and given me a choice if i want to have my scan with care uk. and i said yes. then after a day or two care uk diagnostic support center phoned me in and offered one of their site near where i lived. take's only 5 days and i got my scan.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011346881005913563.post-35375493833291022642007-11-26T17:31:00.000+00:002007-11-26T17:31:00.000+00:00"It must be very hard to fit in your day's work( y..."<I>It must be very hard to fit in your day's work( you know the one the NHS actually pay you for under the Consultant Contract) plus sessions in the Private Sector and find time to fill the internet with your brand misinformation"</I>. <BR/>Yes it is but some of us have an extraordinary capacity for hard work and are willing to sacrifice our free time for our profession. That is how we became doctors in the first place. You shouldn't judge people by your own standards because they are undoubtably inferior.Dr Xavier Rayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09068308374633857210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011346881005913563.post-47826304497705524682007-11-26T14:57:00.000+00:002007-11-26T14:57:00.000+00:00Another prime example of a Radiologist so far up h...Another prime example of a Radiologist so far up his own Beaver he has lost touch with reality. <BR/>Oh I forgot it comes with the Part II FRCR along with the confidence that noeone knows better than you and a complete lack of tact (not in all cases , there are some good ones out there). It must be very hard to fit in your day's work( you know the one the NHS actually pay you for under the Consultant Contract) plus sessions in the Private Sector and find time to fill the internet with your brand misinformation. <BR/>The only reason people like you did not want this scheme is that it could have threatened your cosy living and shortened patients waiting times (reduced demand for the Private Sector) and more shockingly given patients a choice! Oh we cant have that now can we ? The next thing is they will want to be treated within 18 weeks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011346881005913563.post-84018788961319870872007-11-26T01:22:00.000+00:002007-11-26T01:22:00.000+00:00I mean Dr Ray of course...I mean Dr Ray of course...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011346881005913563.post-88625649452699662152007-11-26T01:16:00.000+00:002007-11-26T01:16:00.000+00:00I can't take much more of this bollocks. I'm a fin...I can't take much more of this bollocks. I'm a final year student and I live in terror of the ghastly potentialities that await the profession and the service I have aspired to become part of. <BR/><BR/>I feel I'm being bundled into practice in a time where the NHS - both body and soul, practice and policy - is sliding towards the abyss and I'm being carried with it. The private companies muscling in on the NHS have their eye only on the main chance and not on what is right for the public of this country. God damn them for their selfishness and God damn the government for abetting them. <BR/><BR/>I've spent nearly six years training and I can't stop now, not after investing so much - even though I sometimes think I should. 'I am stepped in blood so deep that to turn back would be as tedious as to go o'er' - or something like that. <BR/><BR/>I don't even know my own career structure anymore - private sector workers have far more control over their destiny.<BR/><BR/>Oh well, whinging will never get me into that coveted FTSTA position back to the books for me. <BR/><BR/>Best of luck with them Dr Rant. You know you need it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011346881005913563.post-74591057486455784432007-11-25T22:51:00.000+00:002007-11-25T22:51:00.000+00:00Keep up the hard work Dr ray, always tell the trut...Keep up the hard work Dr ray, always tell the truth and fear no one. Least of all, don't worry about those self-serving midgets out there, they stink!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011346881005913563.post-31461382577977829262007-11-25T11:33:00.000+00:002007-11-25T11:33:00.000+00:00Eropean !! oops!!!as for other comments, spelling...Eropean !! oops!!!<BR/><BR/>as for other comments, spelling, grammer errors or not, I think you got the message.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011346881005913563.post-64420019190617356282007-11-25T11:16:00.000+00:002007-11-25T11:16:00.000+00:00"Its "Eastern European" Dr Ray." In this context "..."<I>Its "Eastern European" Dr Ray.</I>" <BR/>In this context "its" is a shortened version of "it is" and therefore has an apostrophe i.e. it's.<BR/>There is also a difference between a typo error and an inability to write sufficiently clearly to portray the meaning of a sentence.Dr Xavier Rayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09068308374633857210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011346881005913563.post-40965381003019317272007-11-25T11:07:00.000+00:002007-11-25T11:07:00.000+00:00Its "Eastern European" Dr Ray. it's evident that a...Its "Eastern European" Dr Ray. it's evident that all parties require spell check here! tut !!tut!!!<BR/><BR/>kettle and black spring to mind .Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011346881005913563.post-9650826147804322202007-11-25T10:53:00.000+00:002007-11-25T10:53:00.000+00:00Thank you A&E charge nurse. An astute and valuable...Thank you A&E charge nurse. An astute and valuable contribution as always. I was getting a bit lonely dealing with the Mercury Rebuttal Unit.<BR/>You are correct- there is a shortage of radiographers in the NHS because, unlike Mercury, we can't offer them a company car to come and work with us and no-one in their right minds would undergo the prolonged training if they were not sure of the prospects of a job in the NHS at the end. And, as you say, the job is hard and relentless and now also considered disposable by Nulabour.<BR/><BR/>25 November 2007 10:49Dr Xavier Rayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09068308374633857210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011346881005913563.post-30845931401933363322007-11-25T10:39:00.000+00:002007-11-25T10:39:00.000+00:00Interesting comment, last anonymous.I hardly ever ...Interesting comment, last anonymous.<BR/>I hardly ever get comments on my blog so I assumed the comments from staff and possibly fictitious satisfied patients were coming from the Mercury Mobile Rebuttal Unit, mis-spellings and all.<BR/>You chose to personalize this. My glee was directed at the failure of Nulabours policy not at the individual misfortune of your employees.<BR/>Astute business people demand a premium when dealing with Nulabour, ever since they stole private investors' ownership of Railtrack. Tribal Group, who previously owned Mercury saw the writing on the wall and sold out at huge profit and are still getting lucrative work from Nulabour.<BR/>I doubt whether Care UK went into this with their eyes shut and will come out of it well compensated, unlike their employees. Your company's failure to make adequate provision for its staff if the business failed is your fault and greed - not mine.<BR/>If you had succeeded I, and many hundreds of NHS staff currently working in DGHs, would have been looking for work and competing for jobs at Eastern Eropean rates of pay from companies such as Mercury. <BR/>I am glad you have failed and your employees should look to your negotiators for someone to blame when they get their P45.<BR/>Care UK must have been so blinded by the prospect of making a quick buck out of Nulabours financial incompetence that they left all the staff completely unprotected in the event of a setback.<BR/>Please keep posting, Mercury employees. Unfortunately the postings are revealing a level of command of English which few of us appreciated was so poor for a specialty that relies on clear communication at all levels.Dr Xavier Rayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09068308374633857210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011346881005913563.post-15657392238967488572007-11-25T10:30:00.000+00:002007-11-25T10:30:00.000+00:00Dr Ray - I can't help noticing that most of the co...Dr Ray - I can't help noticing that most of the comments from the Mercury staff are context free. <BR/><BR/>By that I mean they appear to have minimal insight into the vicious war being waged by the DoH against front line NHS staff - the sort of stuff that has been highlighted time and again on excellent blogs like yours.<BR/><BR/>Look at the recent spate of redundancies and ward closures [associated with insolvent Trusts], not to mention the thousands of young doctors ruined by MTAS, or the alarming rate of nursing students unable to obtain posts after qualifying.<BR/><BR/>More recently you have highlighted the NuLab sham trying to pass itself off as a kosher consultation process - parrallels with disreputable one party states are almost impossible to avoid with tricks like these.<BR/><BR/>Unemployed Mercury staff may be angry with you but perhaps they need to realise that this is how the DoH treats people nowadays.<BR/> <BR/>I wonder if their anger might be assuaged by the DoHs determination to shut down A&E departments, maternity units and paediatric services - not to mention their bizarre plan for Tesco [and other supermarket outlets] to take over primary care services ?<BR/><BR/>Curiously none of the Mercury people seem to be comforted by the fact the UK has a shortage of radiographers, and that providing they are not drunk [at interview] or have not murdered anybody recently the majority would probably find NHS jobs tomorrow, assuming of course they can hack the relentless demand, and ever present threat of services being handed over to the private sector.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011346881005913563.post-13849149483849347092007-11-24T23:54:00.000+00:002007-11-24T23:54:00.000+00:00Sorry Dr Ray, I was never asking for sympathy, jus...Sorry Dr Ray, I was never asking for sympathy, just asking you to consider that staff were doing their best and are victims of this mess. None of the staff that have written to you were reporting , non were receiving the salary you are receiving. All the staff were doing is trying to make a living doing something they believed in. You may believe you have won, although you earlier insist that it had nothing to do with you. You are truly someone who does not listen, is untruthful and arrogant.<BR/>I urge all staff to discontinue trying to talk to this idiot we are giving him a platform for him to boost his already inflated ego.Have your Brave New World . Thank goodness I am not part of it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011346881005913563.post-61717149399785980672007-11-24T22:42:00.000+00:002007-11-24T22:42:00.000+00:00Dr Ray's face in this focal spot is a true represe...Dr Ray's face in this focal spot is a true representaion of yourself ! From your method of argument which does not really centre on objectivity but selfishness and greed,it really looks like you have got no grey mater in that empty skull.No wonder you had to hide your ugly eyes inside that dark spectacle !! Ha Ha Ha ! You know wat,I am a radiographer with mercuryhealth,I have worked in several places in the UK and I can authoritatively tell you that mercury is the place to be...Stop being jeaolous ray,with or without the DOH contract,we will still be out there saving patients from people of your ilk !<BR/> Am sure you must have included mercuryhealth in the body of ur x-ray reports lately,poor patients ha ha ha....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011346881005913563.post-56137793315122033432007-11-24T17:10:00.000+00:002007-11-24T17:10:00.000+00:00Anonymous- a truly heartrending comment. Perhaps y...Anonymous- a truly heartrending comment. Perhaps you would be interested in knowing English is my second language too but I have mastered it well enough for my x-ray reports to make some sort of sense.<BR/>The present government were keen to introduce competition into health care and Mercury were keen to make some money out of it. Competition cuts both ways and we won and you lost. <BR/>What do you want from me-sympathy?<BR/>Any radiographer willing and sufficiently qualified to work in an NHS hospital is free to contact our department in Hereford on Monday. They won't be working for me- they will be employed under NHS T&C. Now that Mercury is history we can start investing in the future of our department.Dr Xavier Rayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09068308374633857210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011346881005913563.post-28123047287280849642007-11-24T11:43:00.000+00:002007-11-24T11:43:00.000+00:00My congratulations to all staff who have commented...My congratulations to all staff who have commented here as most of you are using English as your second language, others perhaps anger and the odd sip of wine to drown your sorrows has led to the odd slip in vocabulary.Comments on your writing skills are inappropriate. Perhaps Dr Ray would like to respond to you in your first language. It has been a traumatic week for you all.<BR/>For your information Dr Ray most of these are overseas staff (due to the additionality clause on the contract). <BR/>Surely there must be a problem with your internal management that results in you not attracting staff.We managed to attract over 50competent clinical staff, , paid them no more than NHS rates and never once waived the additionality clause.<BR/>Could I suggest that you perhaps get in touch with Mercury regarding recruitment I understand there are 250 staff available. It would be a shame if "attitude" stood in the way of at least one of these professionals continuing what they set out to do and that is "improving the patient experience". <BR/>To date you have questionned their competence, their use of the English language and their integrity. They are victims of inept government policies that has lead both the private sector, its staff and suppliers into a terrible position. Your compensation claims are a nonsense as they have not been agreed and will only cover costs up to the here and now.Please do not rub salt in their wounds, toast what you believe is "success" privately and lets all get on with picking up the pieces and dealing with the human side of all this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011346881005913563.post-60823831350539198662007-11-24T08:33:00.000+00:002007-11-24T08:33:00.000+00:00Thank you Dr W.You will notice I have never critic...Thank you Dr W.<BR/><BR/>You will notice I have never criticized the quality of the scans or the radiographers. I find this line of argument against the ISTCs unhelpful because they have the advantage of brand new equipment and sufficient staff to run it and if we look too hard we will discover that we all make mistakes now and then.<BR/>What I have objected to is the uneven playing field and the effect the diversion of NHS money to the private sector will have on the local NHS acute hospitals and prospects for UK radiologists and trainees. Perhaps you work in one of the Birmingham or Gloucester "centres of excellence" that just happen to be in Labour voting areas but where I work the closure of our DGH seems almost certain if companies like Mercury succeed.<BR/>I think the NHS can up their game and you may recall when the threat of Mercury was discussed by email about 18 months ago I was the radiologist who suggested that if all the NHS centres in the W. Mids. did three extra scans a day Mercury would have nothing left to do and would be given the boot.<BR/>We need to keep this up if we are to avoid another Mercury.Dr Xavier Rayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09068308374633857210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3011346881005913563.post-39594650066696986222007-11-24T00:20:00.000+00:002007-11-24T00:20:00.000+00:00Dr Ray,I am a West Midlands Consultant Radiologist...Dr Ray,<BR/>I am a West Midlands Consultant Radiologist and I would like to say that the Image quality within Mercury Health/ Care UK that I have experienced, is second to none. To my knowledge 2 Imaging cases have been found as clinically serious, the referrers been informed immediately,the images burnt onto CD and sent to the recieving hospital. I am a dilemma here as yes, they are making an impact on my patients but as a member of the caring profession I salute them.I don't believe that my Trust can or want deliver that service. <BR/>WAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com