kewgirl said:
If you wish to bash any organisation its has to be the government for setting ludicrous targets within health and also in these days, working in the NHS an employee who can generate income and keep costs down is more prized than a clinician.
Clinical posts are decided not by clinical need but through a filter of general management, cost implications and risk assessment. Even when risk assessment deems services & health professional posts necessary Trusts choose to live with that risk rather than invest.
To survive working in the NHS you have to put away ‘patient first’ concerns and replace them with ‘organisation first’ instead. Clinical staff that understood and had ownership of the health service have been eroded by general management with little or no understanding of the needs of patients.
Hi Kewgirl,
Whilst I agree that some of the targets within the NHS are some way off the mark, I don't agree with the 'organisation first' mentality that you believe NHS organisations have. Certainly the PCT I work in doesn't act this way; however I can see how you may have developed this perception of 'general management'.
I firmly believe that we act wholly upon the behalf of patients, and this is always of utmost importance; however it does also have to be recognised that the NHS has finite financial allocation, and with many pressures (including an ageing population), we need to change the traditional NHS model to one which is more effective - this doesn't neccessarily mean introducing more staff to the organisation in every situation.
I also can't agree that clinicians are being eroded by managers. They are, and will continue to be, included in developments of any aspect of the NHS, because as you have so rightly said, they are the ones with the clinical knowledge.
Although the concept of having Project Managers et al within the NHS is a relatively new concept, it's certainly not alien to most private organisations who have thrived due to effective project management within their organisation. For the NHS to succeed, a huge change has to happen. If it doesn't, it will find itself in the position of being able to offer even less care to the UK, as the finances within the NHS are finite.
Iain