Berwick Report another waste of NHS resources
Scratching around for any excuse to justify poor health care, latest imported US guru – Don Berwick (imported at vast expense) – has come up with a report, saying much the same thing that he said last time he was overpaid to tell us what is wrong with NHS.
He says what everyone else has been saying, from Gerry Robinson, Lord Darzi et al, for past decade. And yet still the Whitehall Mandarins sign their over more scarce NHS cash to pay for what any junior doctor or nurse could point out for free.
I dread to think what the bean counters will extract from this report. Yes – money will be found for yet another crack-pot ‘initiative’. which is so silly that it reminds one of the Emperor’s clothes kid’s story. And by the time the ‘initiative’ is quietly dropped, yet more of our money will have been wasted.
Have just come off the phone after 30 minutes with an A & E Matron, trying to explain to me why my care was so lacking last time I was in there. This was second waste of hers and my time, over what was a simple case of incompetent admin. But when will hospitals realise we don’t want apologies AFTER the event – what we want is basic good medical care whilst we are being treated.
Until that day, Whitehall mandarins will desperately scratch around for anyone who can be asked to prepare a “report” that might justify why they don’t have to get off their backsides and get down to old-fashioned work. But I fear they don’t have the brains to recognise the truth if anyone tells them getting back to basics is what the NHS needs.
But then, taking a taxi down to any hospital and asking patients (when no staff are able to over-hear) what they think needs to be improved – that’s old fashioned.
Want to know what report we have paid for says?
Dept Health has just issued press release today, saying
“Patients Will Have Confidence In A Safe NHS And Staff Will Be Supported To Make Safe Care The Priority NHS staff should be supported to learn from mistakes and patients and carers must be put above all else in an attempt to make the NHS a world leader in patient safety, an independent report will say today. Professor Don Berwick, a renowned international expert in patient safety, was asked by the Prime Minister to carry out the review following publication of the Francis Report into the breakdown of care at Mid Staffordshire Hospitals. The report, led by Professor Don Berwick, follows five months of intensive work to examine the lessons for NHS patient safety from healthcare and other industrial systems throughout the world. His four key findings are that: The quality of patient care, especially patient safety, should be paramount Patients and carers must be empowered, engaged and heard Staff should be supported to develop themselves and improve what they do There should be complete transparency of data to improve care Recommendations in the report include:The NHS needs to adopt a culture of learning
IF YOU WANT MORE, GET ON TO DEPT HEALTH. They obviously have plenty of time to issue statements repeating the obvious.