NHS Change suggestions portal hijacked by online pranksters moments after going live
21 October 2024, 15:49 | Updated: 21 October 2024, 16:08
A suggestions portal set up by Wes Streeting to gather ideas from the public on shaping the future of the NHS has found itself the target of online pranksters.
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NHS Change went live on Monday and forms part of Streeting's '10 Year Health Plan for England', encouraging members of the public to share their "experiences, views and ideas for fixing the NHS".
However, within hours, the suggestions portal quickly found itself singled out by jokesters hoping to de-rail constructive conversation.
The site was rapidly inundated with hundreds of comical, ludicrous and downright bizarre ideas to help shape the future of the NHS, including "turning Buckingham Palace into a hospital".
"This page you can share a suggestion for what needs to change across the health and care system and then tag which topic(s) it relates to underneath," read the NHS Change site.
"The ideas you submit will be visible to everyone taking part, and you can browse other ideas: these are all shown below."
Designed to foster constructive ideas, the concept was quickly hijacked, with commenters suggesting everything from dog flags to bunkbeds in a bid to modernise the NHS.
One user's suggestion of Daleks was particularly well received, with the user explaining: "Daleks have particular experience with doctors therefore they will make excellent staff in NHS facilities."
The same user also went on to suggested replacing all NHS hospitals with "giant Wetherspoons".
Another user proposed asylum in exchange for a kidney, while a third suggested a sad looking labrador to adorn an all-new "NHS flag".
The barrage of comments eventually slowed as comedic posts began disappearing from the site, with what's believed to be a team of online moderators swooping in.
A third user wrote: "Superfast WiFi - So I can tweet Harry Cole from A&E"
With another suggesting a "Liz Truss lettuce lunch" - a concept that could see the former PM tour the country "cooking lettuce for people to raise awareness of healthy eating".
Meanwhile, some users proposed slightly more serious ideas, with some suggesting.
One user volunteered setting up an "NHS branded pharmaceutical company", explaining: "Many generic pharmaceuticals cost the NHS millions, even billions per year. The NHS could set up a pharmaceutical company, and produce these drugs themselves for a fraction of the cost.
"They could even sell NHS branded drugs abroad as the name and brand NHS is world famous. This could generate massive revenues to help fund the NHS going forward."
Another suggested "on-site cremation", adding: "Funerals are so expensive, and the NHS needs money. Assuming hospitals have incinerators, could they offer on-site cremations?"
Described as "the biggest national conversation about the future of the NHS since its birth", the site comes in a bid to engage the public with government planning and ideas as it attempts to transform the NHS.
The suggestion comes as Labours' care minister has insisted the government has "no plans" to introduce fines for missed NHS appointments, despite claims Wes Streeting is tabling the idea.
Streeting was quoted as saying he would be more "open-minded" to the concept of fines for no-show patients should NHS reforms fail to reduce the number of missed appointments.
However, speaking on the subject Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, Care Minister & Labour MP for Aberafan Maesteg, Stephen Kinnock, refuted the claims, saying patients would not be fined."
We do not have plans to do that, Nick If you speak to pretty much every GP in the country, they’ll tell you that the vast amount of their time is being sucked into box ticking and form filling," Mr Kinnock told Nick.
