Health Survey for England 2011
 

Have any members of the forum had a letter about participating in this survey, currently being carried out by Natcen?

Re: Health Survey for England 2011
 

Not yet hon;) I'll check my mailbox again tomorrow:D

Re: Health Survey for England 2011
 

Eric, I don't think you need to do that....I can't see them sending out an interviewer and a nurse(at some later date, if you permit it) to your neck of the woods.

Re: Health Survey for England 2011
 

I have never heard of this before but it seems it has been an annual event for several years
NatCen | Series | Health Survey for England

...glad I haven't been asked :rolleyes:
...'to refuse can sometimes offend'

Re: Health Survey for England 2011
 

Bummer, eh;):D

Re: Health Survey for England 2011
 

Well Margaret, I am glad you said that because we were randomly chosen to participate.
I sent back the letter declining, but tonight the interviewer turned up at our door.
I told him that I had contacted Natcen and told them I would not participate...he said that he hadn't been told about that(I told him that I couldn't be held responsible for their administrative inefficiency).....and then went on to ask why I didn't want to participate. I told him that it wasn't(as far as I was aware) compulsory, and that I didn't have to justify my reasons to him.

He told me that this survey was to help plan Health services for the future......and went on to say that if I was knocked down I would expect an ambulance to cart me off to hospital......I told him that of course I would, seeing as I had paid my taxes and national insurance all of my life.
He then went on to say that many people would feel priveleged to have their opinions considered.(?) I told him that that was their prerogative, and that mine was not to participate...he clearly was not taking 'no' for an answer.
He asked why I didn't want to participate....I told him that I didn't want to share personal information with him.....'what about your husband?'...'neither does he' I told him.

In the end I had to be quite firm(bordering on rude) and tell him that I would not discuss this any further.

I am currently toying with the idea of contacting Natcen by phone to give them a piece of my mind.......himself says I should just forget about it....and that I can't afford to be giving away bits of my mind.
I will sleep on it.

Re: Health Survey for England 2011
 

Never heard of Natcen, no idea what it is, But love dealing wi these clowns, hope they call.:D

Re: Health Survey for England 2011
 

If that was true why do we need 600+ MP's, thousands of MP's staff and probably several hundred thousand overpaid NHS managers :confused:.

Re: Health Survey for England 2011
 

Cashy, they won't call unless you have had a letter.
The have chosen random addresses for the participants.
I sent my letter back on the 29th of December with the express information that I didn't want to be part of this survey.
Though the interviewer said he didn't get this information, my guess would be that he did, and just thought that if he turned up we would not turn him away....his luck wasn't in....and I found his manner quite aggressive...which is a sure way to make me harden my attitude.
He took my name and telephone number. I told him to tell Natcen not to call me, but if they do they will get a serve of hot tongue from me.

Himself answered the door(I was in my jimjams) he must've mentioned that I had been a nurse......so the chap said he couldn't understand why, if I had worked in the NHS, I wouldn't want to help.
I told him that these surveys do not make one jot of difference to how services are commissioned, and that they are just useless paper exercises to make the population think they are being listened to...and my life was too short to be answering his probing personal questions about my health and lifestyle...and that I could not be sure how secure this information would be once given up to Natcen.

He waffled on about Natcen being reliable, but by then I wanted to chin him.
15 minutes on the doorstep(me in my Pj's) talking to him, is not my idea of a pleasant evening.

Re: Health Survey for England 2011
 

Good question......these surveys make absolutely no impact on the NHS services.
They are just a paper exercise......one that costs a lot of money, money that could be better spent on services.

Re: Health Survey for England 2011
 

This brings to mind some browsing I did a few days ago.
I was prompted by a news article which said that some people were diagnosed as type 2 diabetic when they weren't.

It is partly due to the way that GPs pay is calculated - by results - which includes having(counting) persons on their list with specified chronic illnesses - diabetes is one of them.

The incentive to diagnose certain illnesses and 'score ponts' for doing it is evident.
Points make (p)rises:rolleyes:

Re: Health Survey for England 2011
 

Yes I saw that too Margaret. That is what comes of just taking one reading instead of a series......or relying too much on finger pricks(although in my experience this has never been used to diagnose type 2 diabetes - butI don't know what GP's get up to these days).

Re: Health Survey for England 2011
 

I have found again the website which details GPs performance.

Their pay is linked to performance/achievement by their pay agreement entitled -
Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) The NHS Information Centre: QOF online results database

You can check your local practice performance -
http://www.qof.ic.nhs.uk/search/index.asp

Re: Health Survey for England 2011
 

Of course they make no impact on NHS services..the main reason being that hardly anyone is willing to participate in these "surveys".
Natcen is a private company being paid by the NHS and making plenty of money...the people they employ who "do the doors" are casual labour and paid a few quid for every completed questionair and if they don't get any they are sacked within two weeks.

Re: Health Survey for England 2011
 

If thats the case tough, people cannot be expected to divulge private info,they have no wish too. Lifes a bitch.

Re: Health Survey for England 2011
 

And so it is.. the bitch is that the NHS pay private mobs to carry out these useless surveys... but that will become just the tip of the iceberg when the new reforms come in ...the NHS will be forced to "out source" most services to private companies...if you have any spare cash get some shares in private health providers :(

Re: Health Survey for England 2011
 

Marg you did well standing at the front doorstep for 15mins with him he should have appreciated that as I would have told him where to go and slammed the door in his face the first time he started asking me why I wouldnt do it! :D

I hate it when they wont take no for an answer, that really winds me up.

Re: Health Survey for England 2011
 

Maybe she's mellowing;)

Re: Health Survey for England 2011
 

The people who 'do the doors' as you put it are trained like the Mori interviewers.

And their research programs are, I was told, well supported by the general public......that is what the interviewer(David Barwell) told me.

Re: Health Survey for England 2011
 

I am a courteous person, and realise that this man had a job to do....and that it really isn't any good shooting the messenger......but, on being told that I had informed Nat cen that I was not prepared to participate in the survey, he should have said 'Thankyou very much, sorry for troubling you' and gone on his merry way, but he didn't........he tried to get me to do the survey by using dubious methods......guilt overlay, harassment.......and this is why I may be contacting Natcen, either by phone or by letter.

Eric, I am not mellowing, and I am sure this interviewer would tell you.
In the end I was bodering on rude. Which is not how I do things at all.

Re: Health Survey for England 2011
 

You took the words right out of my, er well computer, that's exactly what I thought when I first read Margaret's post. Mind you they would be welcome at my gaff, should provide some light hearted entertainment working out health benefits I can expect from parting in the survey:D

Re: Health Survey for England 2011
 

As Churchill once said: "When you have to kill a man, it costs nothing to be polite.";):D