I completely agree with Dr Rachel Clarke’s article (As a doctor I am no apologist for Wes Streeting – but here he is right about the NHS, September 25). I retired from the NHS earlier than intended because I was dealing with a ridiculous workload and feeling undervalued.
I see increasing dissatisfaction among senior doctors. One of the many factors contributing to the demise of the NHS, and which won’t require a lot of money to fix, is the changing culture created by the insidious shift of key decision-making from senior doctors to managers . This has led to staff losing enthusiasm, simply doing their daily work as best they can and not feeling that they have a role to play in improving service.
Modern healthcare depends on effective teamwork. If you spent some time building happy, cohesive, empowered teams, service delivery would change. Happy, productive teams are willing to put in extra hours to provide the best possible patient experience. Instead, there is an atmosphere of fear – put your head above the ground and seek referral for disciplinary action or a referral to the General Medical Council.
As Dr Clarke says, recent scandals have shown that management teams can be more concerned about reputational damage than the wellbeing of patients. Instead of being supported and given the opportunity to learn, staff may face demoralizing, traumatic and counterproductive bureaucratic procedures that lead to reduced efficiency.
I would say to the Government that of course the NHS desperately needs more money and technological resources, but changing the culture so that clinical staff feel they have a stake in the service, helped and supported by managers, would yield much greater profits than simply donating money. money into what could become a bottomless pit.
Dr Meher Pocha
Letchworth, Hertfordshire