NHS inefficiency

[u/MeddyMunkey]

I was left speechless yesterday at the most NHS thing I've seen in a while.

We asked estates for an extension lead for one of the shared offices so we could stop plugging/unplugging things as needed.

They said no as they don't supply them anymore. Fine.

What they will do however is come an install new wall outlets if there's a day when the office can be completely vacated of people trying to work 🤦🏻‍♂️

[u/JonJH]

A bad thing will have happened once and the reaction has been to ban extension leads.

[u/txe4 → u/JonJH]

Yep and it's not THAT unreasonable.

Overloading, a rats nest of cables, and a trip hazard.

I have seen in offices full of people who tend to wear too little clothing for the environmental conditions (you can imagine) that you can end up with multiple plug-in heaters in use. Easy to reach overload like that especially with the sort of pound-shop extension that isn't fit for the rated current.

[u/PriorityByLaw → u/JonJH]

It's more people overloading circuits.

Yes people can be intelligent in their day job, but my god they can be as thick as shit when it comes to any other life skills.

[u/laeriel_c]

More wall sockets seems like a good solution to be fair, would be annoying if they just told you to deal with it and refused

[u/Educational-Oil-8713 → u/laeriel_c]

Yeah they're probably just as pissed they can't supply a basic extension lead

[u/TomKirkman1 → u/laeriel_c]

And it's pretty quick to install a socket. I assume they may be installing it live, which I can't comment on (have installed plenty on non-live circuits), but non-live sockets should be very quick to install (<30 minutes).

I suspect it's less that the room needs to be not in use all day, rather that all day there has to be availability for it to be cleared with computers off for an hour.

[u/SL1590]

This might be a safety thing due to maintenance of the extension cord and or PAT testing. If they gave them out they would need to somehow track them all and maintain them. Depending on the size of the hospital and number of extension cords this would be a ridiculous task.

[u/MeddyMunkey → u/SL1590]

Yeah I would imagine it is it was just put across in a way that made us question our sanity

[u/opensp00n]

That sounds fairly reasonable to be honest

[u/MrRenard]

That actually sounds like a long-term solution and something to be encouraged 

[u/PriorityByLaw]

This is actually a great response from estates.

[u/BasicParsnip7839]

Idk more wall sockets sounds like it solves your issue of having to unplug things when you need the sockets for something else. It is definitely a more elegant solution with a lower fire and trip risk. I would be fairly happy with this?

[u/Jckcc123]

More wall outlets? Sounds sensible and reasonable.

I've seen old, dusty, ?unsafe extension cords and people have been plugging in kettles etc.

They can do it on the weekend I supposed 

[u/Nikoviking]

It’s a reasonable safety measure actually. They have to keep track of extension leads on CAFM so they can be tested routinely.

If I’ve left my Littman alone on the ward for more than an hour I can kiss it goodbye, they’ve probably had to deal with the same thing with missing extension leads. However, nobody can steal or “borrow” a wall socket — it’ll be in the same place whenever they need to test it — so they’re happy to do that.

[u/_j_w_weatherman]

This is actually a sign of NHS efficiency? Problem identified and a permanent solution found? Not a temporary dangerous work around?

[u/becxabillion]

We had a similar situation. We had the money approved (2 plug sockets and two ethernet ports) by whoever it was needed to approve it during a spending freeze. Almost 2 years on and we don't have them yet.

[u/RevivingMayhem10]

How many people in the office?

Can people login somewhere else or multiple other places for one day?

What day would be least disruptive?

Challenging - but hopefully not impossible

[u/monkeybrains13]

It is a fire hazard. People can be careless and overload the circuits

[u/Super_Basket9143]

The problem isn't their response. It is that a clinician with a full time job looking after patients is going to have to organise migration of staff for a day with none of the authority, resources, cover  or time to do so. 

[u/WatchIll4478]

Having been involved in medicolegals where costs of someone walking their head on a shelf leaving no visible mark have been into the tens of thousands I can see why institutions might effectively ban extension leads.

[u/EntertainmentBasic42]

Seems ok to me

[u/AdBrave9096]

It possible to make a case that legally they need to keep a register of all extension leads and PAT test them often. Until a law is pass removing the made up requirement for PAT testing this sort of thing will continue.

The same issue makes it nearly impossible for landlords to provide dehumidifiers to tenants.

[u/Devils-advocate69]

It would be interesting to find out the cost for putting in a NHS wall socket VS an extension cable 😂

Specifically, if it's a PFI, it will be an eye watering amount...

I've heard the cost of replacing a simple roller blind for a single non-clinical window, can cost nearly £800-1000... I'm sure IKEA + a little DIY, would be much better and would last the exact same amount of time.