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The NHS currently runs on avoiding blame which is the problem. When someone is made accountable and the first thing they do is establish a process to avoid bla

by pling 12y ago

The NHS currently runs on avoiding blame which is the problem. When someone is made accountable and the first thing they do is establish a process to avoid blame then you need to ask the question: do these people have my best interests at heart or are they avoiding being accountable? On many occasions the outcome is to avoid a breach rather than to fix a problem.

ZoFreX 12y ago
The NHS also runs on overworking its employees and assuming they will still be effective at the end of a 20 hour shift with no sleep. If anyone making a completely understandable mistake due to the terrible conditions they have to work in is blamed and fired for it, would that really help? I think it's understandable for people to cover their own ass if they are expected to be infallible even under poor conditions - everyone else is doing it, if you don't the only difference it makes to the NHS is that it's down one employee. This is just one way of many possible ways that what might first appear to be a single human failing is down to a larger institutional problem.
- pling 12y ago
  No they don't. That's the nursing unions and the press talking. It's total bollocks. The decision makers and the senior staff have considerably smaller shifts. With respect to the surgical and anaesthesiologist staffing, most of them (80%+) are contracted out and are private staff working on contract to the NHS now. A surgeon for example will probably spend two days a week on NHS cases, one day being surgical and the other being consultant and that's all you see of them. The remainder of the time is lucrative private care and occasionally teaching (which is well paid as well). There are a few exceptions to this i.e. StR's and consultants who seem to migrate into a speciality then leave after a few years. They all take the extra shifts because they're paid for the privilege of up to a 50% bonus. They're overworked because they're chasing the cash. The REAL overworked staff are mainly the support staff i.e nursing, supply, logistics. Most of them are contracted out now as well in the larger PCTs. Even with all that, no one should be allowed to cover their arses as it turns into a vicious circle of unaccountability. It's a poor excuse which must not be allowed to continue in the profession (or ANY profession to be honest).

by pling 12y ago

ZoFreX 12y ago

The NHS also runs on overworking its employees and assuming they will still be effective at the end of a 20 hour shift with no sleep. If anyone making a completely understandable mistake due to the terrible conditions they have to work in is blamed and fired for it, would that really help? I think it's understandable for people to cover their own ass if they are expected to be infallible even under poor conditions - everyone else is doing it, if you don't the only difference it makes to the NHS is that it's down one employee. This is just one way of many possible ways that what might first appear to be a single human failing is down to a larger institutional problem.

pling 12y ago
No they don't. That's the nursing unions and the press talking. It's total bollocks. The decision makers and the senior staff have considerably smaller shifts. With respect to the surgical and anaesthesiologist staffing, most of them (80%+) are contracted out and are private staff working on contract to the NHS now. A surgeon for example will probably spend two days a week on NHS cases, one day being surgical and the other being consultant and that's all you see of them. The remainder of the time is lucrative private care and occasionally teaching (which is well paid as well). There are a few exceptions to this i.e. StR's and consultants who seem to migrate into a speciality then leave after a few years. They all take the extra shifts because they're paid for the privilege of up to a 50% bonus. They're overworked because they're chasing the cash. The REAL overworked staff are mainly the support staff i.e nursing, supply, logistics. Most of them are contracted out now as well in the larger PCTs. Even with all that, no one should be allowed to cover their arses as it turns into a vicious circle of unaccountability. It's a poor excuse which must not be allowed to continue in the profession (or ANY profession to be honest).