Delay, delay

I’m still waiting to get a look at the Francis report (due Wednesday) on the scandal at the Stafford Hospital; where about 1200 needless deaths occurred due to neglect and abuse of patients.

What, I wonder are the rewards for managing such an appalling failure?

Sir David Nicholson has spent a lifetime as an NHS manager and earnt substantial amounts of money doing so.

During the years of abuse at the hospital, he was the supervisor of the Shropshire and Staffordshire region of the NHS and as a result directly responsible for ensuring that the hospitals there were properly run.

In 2006, he was appointed national NHS Chief Executive.

He has now been appointed the Chief Executive of the NHS commissioning board – which will supervise the groups of GP’s who will soon have responsibility for “buying” NHS services for their patients.

In other words he will be the architect of the new structure, likely to be the way the NHS is run for the next 10 years.

It seems, no matter what happens, however serious it is, if you put the complaints off long enough, you’ll be alright.

We’ll see what the report holds, tomorrow.

 

Neil Harris

(a don’t stop till you drop production)