Plain Speaking
The Chair of the Care Quality Commission in England and Wales declared that the NHS should not be treated as a “national religion” because millions of patients receive a “wholly unsatisfactory” service from GPs and hospitals.
How refreshing, I think the chairman, David Prior, deserves three cheers for his honesty and candour.
In an interview with the Daily Telegraph Mr Prior, claimed that the NHS was "too powerful" to be criticised, that parts of the NHS were out of control - explaining that it was "crazy" that the Health Secretary in England and Wales, Jeremy Hunt, was directly telephoning hospital chief executives who had missed A&E targets.
A bad case of micro-management, if you ask me, but the same thing happens in Scotland as well - where Scottish Ministers, including the First Minister, are regularly invited to accept responsibility for poor standards of service in local hospitals - even the treatment of individual patients.
Which is completely mad when you stop and think about all these very highly doctors and managers that the NHS employes.
David Prior went on to say:
“It became too powerful to criticise. When things were going wrong people didn’t say anything. If you criticised the NHS – the attitude was how dare you?
“No organisation should be put on such a high pedestal that it is beyond criticism. Now it is getting more honest about our failings — which I think makes it more likely that we will address them.”
Well said, sir - I only wish their was the same level of outspokenness by public watchdogs in Scotland.
The NHS gets lots of things right, but also lots of things wrong - and what's really required is a culture where patients have more say about the standard and delivery of their treatment.
