----- Original Message -----
From: Adrian Fogarty <[log in to unmask]>
To: A&E List <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, October 30, 2000 1:54 AM
Subject: Re: seniority of doctors
> Some excellent points here Jonathan, but be careful of using all that
> business language which the tories have taught us over the last decade,
> which I believe is inappropriate for a publicly funded institution like
the
> NHS. The trust's "income", as you put it, is really whatever the health
> authority is willing to pay. A&E will never win if we try to pretend we
can
> generate "income". We can never get contracts from other regions, ECRs or
> whatever you wish to call them. We can never generate private income like
> other specialities do, to bolster the trust's financial position. We can
> only promise improved quality, for which we require increased funding,
from
> our local health authority. We should avoid the term "income" in such
> discussions, and "quality" is now the big issue with the current
government,
> thank goodness, so we stand a fighting chance of increasing our resources
on
> that basis alone.
>
Whilst I wholeheartedly agree that running the NHS like a commercial
enterprise is inappropriate it still seems to be a common concept in my neck
of the woods.
I'd be delighted to see a real emphasis on quality, but I've never met a
hospital manager with the catchphrase "hang the expense, if you say that it
improves the quality of patient care we'll buy it!" (if anybody does know a
manager like this can they tell me so I know where to apply for my
consultant's post).
Perhaps they'd be more convinced by robust research evidence demonstrating
the quality benefits of increased senior staff...
Jonathan Benger.
SpR, Bristol.
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