Answering your health questions; At the weekend the NHS marked its 60th anniversary and we asked readers to give their questions to put to two health professionals. Dr Roger Ford, honorary secretary of the British Medical Association's Northern Council, and Rosemary Stephenson, director of nursing at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, supply the answers

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), July 8, 2008

Colin Atkinson, 75, retired, from Newcastle: Could opening polyclinics in the region help to make medical services available to patients around the clock?

Dr Ford: 'There is already good access to round-the-clock medical services-either walk-in centres and A&E departments or out-of-hours GPs. Additional services would be very expensive and not cost-effective."

Jeff Brown, 46, police officer, from Morpeth: Why does it take months to be seen on the NHS but days when private, only to be seen by the same consultants?

Dr Ford: 'There are still capacity issues in the NHS and, many believe, management inefficiencies, thus there are waiting list delays in the NHS - but this has improved over the last few years.

"Consultants are entitled to see private patients in their own time when not on NHS duty - the waiting times are much smaller because there are fewer patients willing and able to pay private costs."

Harry Menell, 69, a dad-of-three from Cullercoats: Is there a chance the NHS might be privatised in the future?

Dr Ford: 'There are already chunks of the hospital services which have been contracted out to private company providers.

"Currently the local health authorities are tendering for new GP practices using a rarely-used contract system that effectively encourages private companies to bid.

"In some parts of the country this has already happened and the Government is clearly keen to expand the private sector's involvement."

Georgina Holliday, 17, student, from Hexham: Shouldn't patients have more say in the care and treatment they are given?

Dr Ford: "I completely agree and young doctors are increasingly being taught to give them more say. Older doctors probably find this new 'partnership' arrangement more alien, but we are trying hard!

"Patients now have much better access to their records and are encouraged to ask for copies of letters between consultants and GPs."

David Hastie, 44, civil servant, from Newcastle: Why does the NHS concentrate so much on the management and not on the patients?

Dr Ford: "Good management is essential in any organisation to ensure smooth running and maximise the efficiency of service delivery. However, we do seem to have arrived at a situation in some areas where management teams are adversely affecting clinical care."

William Carruthers, 81, retired, from Fawdon: Can the hygiene and cleanliness situation in hospitals be improved?

Ms Stephenson: "We have invested heavily to improve standards of hygiene and cleanliness in our hospitals.

"Good hand hygiene by staff and visitors is an important part of infection control and we all have a role to play in bringing down infection rates.

"Our domestic staff work hard to ensure our hospitals are kept spotlessly clean at all times. We have increased the number of domestic staff we employ and have an ongoing programme of deep cleaning.

"At Northumbria we were one of the first trusts in the country to screen all patients admitted to hospital for the presence of MRSA on their skin."

Ken Arthur, 73, retired, from Cleadon Village, Sunderland: Why can't the NHS offer the same services that are offered to private patients?

Ms Stephenson: 'The NHS actually offers a wider range of services to patients than is available privately and offers A&E services.

"Because NHS hospitals have additional support services such as coronary care, intensive care and high dependency units, the NHS is able to treat patients with more complex problems than private hospitals are able to.

'The criticism in the past had been the difference in waiting times, with private patients being seen more quickly. However, the NHS has worked hard recently to reduce waiting times so that long waits are a thing of the past.

"At Northumbria we also place great importance on treating patients in modern, clean environments and have invested heavily in improving hospital buildings and facilities."

Samantha Cook, 18, student, from Throckley: Why are waiting times in general so long?

Ms Stephen-son: "Most patients are treated within 18 weeks, which means their first appointment at the hospital is usually within seven weeks. For emergency referrals patients are seen much quicker than this and definitely within two weeks.

"In our hospitals much work has gone into reducing waiting times for diagnostic tests and procedures, including running clinics with extended hours and employing staff to work in the evenings to call patients to arrange their appointments."

Sue Graham, 54, unemployed, from Newcastle: Can we bring back ward matrons?

Ms Stephen-son: "Old matrons were phased out in 1967 but modern matrons were brought back to Northumbria Healthcare in 2004. This trust now has 24 matrons working across its 10 hospitals and has recently appointed the first of two new chief matrons.

"Just like the old matrons, the matrons of today are highly visible on trust wards so patients can identify who is in charge and who they can turn to if they have problems. They make sure wards are clean, safe and running smoothly."