Of for goodness sake!

I was feeling quite nostagic this morning. I am posting twice today. The first post is the worst one of the two. I happen to be quite a fan of the Dr Rant team. I am sure this morning they may have been interested to know of one of the lectures were on. Service improvement. Stop laughing you at the back.

Now, I am all for the NHS actually getting better. I freverently belive that the key to achieving this is a genuine team effort of all the staff concerned. I too think that, albeit in a reduced role to professionals, that patients individually can shape the care of the NHS services. I say reduced because an idividual can only provide their own perspective. They will be able to give unique insight into an experance which is theirs, and theirs alone. One mans meat is anothers potato (to use the Colloquialism). That a person may dislike the NHS is to negate that some people may "like" the NHS. Additionally, the phallacy of association certianly will not mean that the NHS is not fit for the treating of patients.

It was with a certian amount of politcal unspeak that we were introduced to the concept of NHS service improvement. To say that this was riddled with the influence of the current admisitration is to be an understatement. I have always considered that a fundamental right of the free nations of the world is the freedom to make a choice of what they do. The freedom of speech is a right that we should not take for grated, even if we are allowing ourselfs to be policitcally lead. To cite a quote attributed to Voltaire "Why I May Not Agree With What You Say, I'll Defend To The Death Your Right To Say It".


One of the main thigns was that there was the mention made of the connecting for health scheme. Yup. thats right. The part of the NHShIT project which is currently costing as much 30% of the GDP of Peru. I dont mind that. It was the patronising tone the DoH adopt "Enablers". Oh come on. The patients are at least the last people of the NHS population to ever a) get a say b) Actually notice c) give a toss. Given that the NHShIT project has double the amount of money being spent then the combined disposable income of Germany, this really is not acceptable.

Also, the use of processes, and "systems thinking". Well, the sort of thinking that has resulted in a computer system which is costing 4 times the economic growth of China from 2001-2008. Also, the fact that the average suggestion box to a health minister seems to be a waste paper basket, how do any of us stand a chance. I recall when there were a few nurses who "suggested" they not have a 0.009% increse which was resisted while the NHShIT computer system cost more money then was taken through taxation, funding and minted during the Ottoman empire.

Or when 12000 doctors "suggested" that the "improvement" of 10000 less doctors was not a good idea. I guess the government were more concerned with shoveling more money into the NHShIT system which the Office of National Statistics have noted as having taken 14 times more money then the economies of the combined westernised nation 1898-2004, adjsted for the mean poverty level of pre-tax profits.