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

The report published today,

<< http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7037657.stm>>

Shows how far wrong things can get when those in charge are looking the wrong way - in this case at the need to meet financial and other targets placed on Trusts by our politicians. Both inside of and outside the NHS

I'm sure the Trust in question has learned at least 90 lessons.... but will the NHS be allowed to care more about patients, than meetings to discuss target achievements from now on? Perhaps getting rid of some 'bean counters' or giving them more productive tasks will let the NHS discharge it's main obligations, and more live patients too.

Novo

happy to hear on the PM programme that the last CEO (who left in... 86? has had her golden handshake suspended)

There were some very explicit pictures on the news last night and a recording of the CEO, a scary, almost demented looking woman. Now the police are involved it would concenmtrate minds wonderfully if we had a corporate manslaughter act.

Have you in the UK had that process whereby management positions previously held by medically qualified people are now filled by people with management and marketing degrees?


One thing I find interesting about that news story is the lack of preparedness for any kind of epidemic. I thought the bird flu had meant all modern hospitals had been fitted with quarantine rooms and epidemic proceedures.

I have done some work with hospitals, introducing change and we came up with a phrase that sums things up, nurses make good nurses.

What do you mean?

So if you give the tender for cleaning the hospital to the lowest bidder, what do you think might happen ?

a) Less staff are employed to do the work.

b) Cheaper equipment is used.

c) Staff hours are cut though tasks aren't

d) All the above

I know how it worked in our company when the cleaning budget was cut. We contracted out and now we are cleaning up after ourselves a lot of the time because there are less cleaners to do the same amount of work in less hours.

In a hospital I can't imagine it works any other way - with way more disastrous consequences.

Kea, sorry for the delay, basically nurses are good at what they are trained for i.e. nursing but not very good at what they are not trained for i.e. management.

But for a very long time (say a hundred years) medical people also were managers i.e. they learnt those skills on top of their medical skills. And, shock, horror hospitals were functional.

Which is to say, the idea that medical staff can't manage is an incredibly modern idea, and not absolute truth.

I'm not saying that all medical staff are poor managers just that the scale and complexity of the management processes has increased due to targets, outcomes, increased patient expectations and the need to spend politically hyped extra funding effectively. Not an easy task for somebody who's skills are primarily climical.

And obviously beyond the management teams they brought in as well !