Dear Sir
Your editorial highlights the very real problems occuring within the NHS. The cuts will affect front line services, training and staff morale. All of these factors will affect the patient experience of healthcare in the coming years.
Having working in the NHS for many years and sampled NHS management, I make the following observations.
The has been much talk about engaging clinicians, in particular Doctors in the shaping of services. This has largely been talk. Doctors are now disengaged and disenchanted with the whole process.
PCTs have spent more energy organising and re-organising their structures than developing services.
There are more uncompleted projects than completed ones. PCT managers often lack the skills required to develop a working service. They are paralysed by Government guidance which is often unclear and changes frequently. This has resulted in indecision causing immense frustration and wasted opportunity.It is demotivating to anyone involved.
Targets whilst improving some aspects of patient care have lead to money being diverted from areas of care which are not included in targets. The targets have not been properly costed out leading to debts.
Financial management and IT development have been frankly shoddy at times.
Now to cap it all the Government has decreed that suddenly the books have to balance.It is like a bank threatening to forclose on a poorly run large business and panic has set in.The results are plain to see.
The NHS is complicated and changing it for the better will always be difficult but this Government has made a hash of it
Your editorial highlights the very real problems occuring within the NHS. The cuts will affect front line services, training and staff morale. All of these factors will affect the patient experience of healthcare in the coming years.
Having working in the NHS for many years and sampled NHS management, I make the following observations.
The has been much talk about engaging clinicians, in particular Doctors in the shaping of services. This has largely been talk. Doctors are now disengaged and disenchanted with the whole process.
PCTs have spent more energy organising and re-organising their structures than developing services.
There are more uncompleted projects than completed ones. PCT managers often lack the skills required to develop a working service. They are paralysed by Government guidance which is often unclear and changes frequently. This has resulted in indecision causing immense frustration and wasted opportunity.It is demotivating to anyone involved.
Targets whilst improving some aspects of patient care have lead to money being diverted from areas of care which are not included in targets. The targets have not been properly costed out leading to debts.
Financial management and IT development have been frankly shoddy at times.
Now to cap it all the Government has decreed that suddenly the books have to balance.It is like a bank threatening to forclose on a poorly run large business and panic has set in.The results are plain to see.
The NHS is complicated and changing it for the better will always be difficult but this Government has made a hash of it
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