Sunday 7 March 2010

'Lost' Reasons For Organisational Existence

National Death Service has a post about how daming reports on the state of the National Health Service, suppressed by the government, reveal how patients’ needs have been neglected. It includes this extract from the Times report:

"Managers crowded in patients in order to meet waiting-time targets and, in the process, lost sight of the fundamental hygiene requirements for infection prevention....."

This typifies the 'failure of governmental target regime' in that just about every bureaucrat, in every 'state' organisation, loses sight of their core 'raison d'etre', to the complete detriment of their customers! Why should 'customers' matter, when the poor 'customer' has no alternative source of supply. Have we, as a country, learned nothing from the days of nationalised 'service provision' - where inefficiency was a byword?

4 comments:

AntiCitizenOne said...

I often say this...

"If you're not a customer then you're a cost, and costs are minimised."

The NHS just doesn't work.

Witterings from Witney said...

Hello ACO,

Yes - and the problem is these bastards, having nicked so much of our money, will never become a 'cost' as they will be able to afford an alternative!

I stilll think 'wall and AK47' is the only solution!

AntiCitizenOne said...

Only a temporary solution.

You have to correct the problem and build systems that are meta-stable.

Chuckles said...

"Have we, as a country, learned nothing from the days of nationalised 'service provision' - where inefficiency was a byword?"

Yes, of course we have learnt; we can repeat them exactly. What more do you want?