Features
Rotherham District General Hospital Under the Microscope
Sir Gerry Robinson, one of Britain's most successful businessmen, has been looking at Rotherham District General in order to cut waiting lists. His thought provoking findings have been given in BBC Two's Can Gerry Robinson Fix the NHS series of programmes.
Our local hospital had received the highest rating possible but the chief executive Brian James had great ambitions to provide hospital services with zero waiting times. Implemention of his plans had begun and waiting lists had started coming down but he asked for Sir Gerry Robinson's help to see if he could speed up the process.
After six-months, Sir Gerry feels he was given a unique insight into the turbulent world of the NHS and said "I feel it was one of the most difficult things I have ever taken on." He was of the opinion that within the NHS there was no management in the accepted sense and that "the consultants were a law unto themselves."
Sir Gerry found this most clearly where the general manager of Child Health had been trying to get waiting times down but was having difficulties engaging the consultants in her plans. After many meetings, the consultants agreed to see extra patients, bringing waiting times down from eight weeks to two. Sir Gerry was stunned at just how simple the answer was, but equally, just how difficult it had been to make happen.
"What you really see here is the power the consultants wield in the NHS . If the consultants don't want to do it, then it won't happen, as simple as that." "In what other organisation would that be allowed to happen?"
From this, and many other examples, Sir Gerry concluded that in the NHS there was a feeling that "management is some way-up-in-the-clouds kind of issue whereas in truth management is about getting Mary and George to do something differently."
Sir Gerry met Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt to discuss his experiences and she agreed that management was not just about big strategic plans. She said: "The single most important thing that a leader or a manager can do is be out there on the shop floor at the coalface with the staff with the patients, I think that's absolutely critical. And I've no doubt at all the best managers are the people who are doing that."
But to get the highest quality managers it needs, Sir Gerry believes the NHS must pay the going rate - far more than it does now but easily achievable within a budget of almost £100bn.
So after six months in the NHS what was Sir Gerry's final verdict?
"I met some amazing people, people who wanted to make things happen." "If there is a lesson we must learn from this experience, it is that we must stop thinking about the NHS as some kind of unmanageable monster and get back to realising it's an extremely precious thing that just needs managing in a day-to-day way.
"And that that can actually be done."
Rotherhamweb comment: - Hopefully there will be a follow up programme in the not to distant future reporting on progress.
NB. Actual BBC transcipts have been used in preparing this article, their source is duly recognised and acknowledged.
Full Interview with Gerry Robinson
Rotherham District General Hospital
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