DrThis is a great piece in the Daily Mail by Dr Karol Sikora.  In it he points out that NHS patients are being put at risk by hospitals using untested doctors to ensure that they achieve government targets.

What is interesting here is the contrast with the UK’s independent sector.  Patient safety is paramount to the independent sector, as harming their patients harms their reputation and this would ultimately destroy their business.  The independent sector are much more careful of the staff that they employ or allow admitting rights to their hospitals, Consultants wishing to have admitting rights to independent sector hospitals are subject to strict scrutiny and peer review and only allowed in when it is trusted that they will bring benefit to the organisation.

The problem with Government setting targets for NHS hospitals it that the target not the patient becomes the priority, as NHS managers strive to please their political paymasters they lose sight of the damage that is being done to the people who should really matter, the patients!