h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: who is to blame for bad care in the NHS??? - A729056
Author: doggymad - U186505

i am not quite sure where to put this for review, i have just written it and would like people to check and see what they think. can you help tell me where it should go

Hi Doggymad,

I hope you're recovering well from your op . Sounds to me like a difficult experience was made worse than it needed to be.

I don't think that this is suitable for the main Guide, because that's usually for factual (but often funny) impersonal articles, rather than from personal experience.

As for improving it, I do have a few suggestions that might be useful. H2G2 is an international forum, and so not everyone will know what the NHS is. Perhaps a better title would be "A personal experience of the British National Health Service".

You don't have to put it up for review at all if you don't want to. Review is only for entry to the edited guide - your entry is *already* part of the full guide.

Another idea might be to work this up into an article for people who are about to have surgery, written from your point of view. The H2G2 post might be interested in something like that, or possibly it might work as a guide entry. (There's a link at the bottom of the main page for the H2G2 Post). I'm sure an article like that would be useful to many people. It's definitely worth having a look at the spelling as well.

I hope this is of some use

Otto

A few points, as you asked.

Firstly, you asked where this should be put. this sort of thing usually (but not exclusively) goes into the journal on your h2g2 user page.

Then, you asked for comments about the article. The most obvious one is that you are blaiming the wrong people. in your case, there are three sets of people responsible for your predicament.

the doctors, for not making their explanations clear enough for you to be able to give informed consent, but this is just a side issue.

The porters for not checking what has to be a fairly standard situation of people having stuff on their hospital trolleys.

The "jobsworth" who you spoke to in the hospital about getting your property back. This person is the one who should get most of the blame, as the main problem is due to the "vogon-like" nature of the individual.

This individual lives for putting the tick in the box, rather than being helpfull, and it is painfully obvious from his comments that this is indeed his motivation.

it is this fundamental lack of flexibility of response that is the main villain, not the exact rules.

anyway, keep up the good work.