SIR – The recent Channel 4 Dispatches programme was very revealing, highlighting how Government NHS hospital ‘targets’ are not always having helpful consequences.
Yes, targets can give a person, group or organisation something positive to aim for and sometimes save time, money and resources. However, it seems some NHS targets can be an impediment to medical staff doing their job effectively.
In the programme, we saw how nurses are using up valuable time continually checking targets and filling in wipeboards and charts. Sometimes these have the demotivating effect of revealing a patient to be treated is actually going to be a ‘burden’ by costing the hospital a large amount of money through a ‘target penalty!’ Some targets bizarrely seem to have the aim of keeping the potential patient away from the hospital and treatment!
The most illuminating scene was when one of the nurses sighed knowingly and sadly pointed out that all she wanted to be doing was the best she could for her patients. Well, yes, isn’t that precisely what the NHS is supposed to be doing and why the public values it so highly?
David Hornsby, West View Avenue, Wrose
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