What can Bletchley Park teach us about organisations and organisational life? I have just read an excellent book by Christopher Grey, Decoding Organization (great title), who brings his academic experience in organisational studies, together with a deep delve into archives, to the iconic site of Bletchley Park. Much has been written on this, but it […]
Category: NHS
Marge Berer: Jeremy Hunt supports 12 week limit for abortion
At the Labour conference last week, Andy Burnham accused Jeremy Hunt of failing to make any statements about important current health service issues in parliament since he became health secretary. What a pity he decided to speak up last week, because now we know just how uninformed he is. Hunt said he favoured reducing the […]
Pritpal S Tamber: How my local CCG disrespects its patients
I went to my local “patient participation” group meeting last week. My local practice said they were seeking feedback on their commissioning plans and suggested I attend. This was quite gracious (and brave) of them given how rude I was about their attempts to create a patient leaflet. I think all non-practising clinicians and health […]
Lewis Morrison: BMA Scotland seeks further ballot on pensions strike action
On Friday last week, a leading Scottish national newspaper reported that “Scots doctors break ranks on pensions strike ballot.” This publicised the decision by the BMA in Scotland to seek a ballot of hospital doctors on further industrial action in protest against changes to the NHS pension scheme and particularly highlighted the Scottish government’s handling […]
Peter Bailey: Own up and ask for help
When I was twelve, I had a splendid bicycle. I cleaned and oiled and polished it. I looked for ways to improve it. One day, I thought I would take the Sturmey Archer three speed gear hub apart to oil it and make it work better, faster, and more smoothly for less effort. I knew […]
Penny Campling: Thoughts on a healthcare culture—part 3
Why do good staff become bad? This seems a particularly pertinent question for those of us interested in healthcare in the aftermath of Mid Staffordshire, Winterbourne View, and the repeated and deeply depressing glugs of distasteful information coming through about our callousness towards the elderly. There is certainly no evidence that healthcare staff are more […]
Penny Campling: Thoughts on a healthcare culture—part 2
I recently attended a symposium at the Tavistock Clinic entitled Cultures of Care: Cruelty and Kindness. As the Tavistock is a psychoanalytic institution, there was a lot of focus on understanding the problem and the discussion was complex and challenging with the shameful examples of Mid-Staffordshire, Winterbourne View and the Care Quality Commission’s report on […]
Penny Campling: Thoughts on healthcare culture
How many of us feel the culture in the NHS brings out the best in us? Judging from the majority of staff surveys, not many. I happen to think this matters enormously. Staff really are the greatest asset to any organisation, especially an organisation where caring is a fundamental part of the task. Creating the […]
David Pencheon: Don’t always put patients first.
Patient health, patient experience, and health outcomes for individuals and populations should always be at the heart of the NHS. But the best way to actually achieve this most effectively might be to address it more obliquely. […]
Anna Dixon: Evolution or revolution: the story behind the Health and Social Care Act 2012
It was often difficult to know who to believe during debate about the Health and Social Care Bill. The public were faced with baffling technocratic details from government with no accompanying compelling narrative to explain the need for such significant reforms, alongside sensationalised claims from some who opposed it that the bill spelt the end […]