Everybody’s favourite giant-flower wearing government jester, Heath Secretary ‘Mad’ Patricia Hewitt, has pronounced that

some parts of the NHS in England have taken on too many doctors and nurses

That seems a bit of a sweeping statement to me. I think it’s important she’s more specific - exactly which hospitals have too many doctors and nurses? Presumably not the one in Wales, which has had to close its minor injuries unit due to a lack of staff. Presumably not Scotland, where current government estimates say there will soon be 500 too few GPs - a number the BMA beleives to be much higher. And presumably not England, where ambulances have been turned away from understaffed A&Es.

But they’re out there somewhere. And it’s important we find them. After all, we can’t go spending all the NHS money on silly extravagances like doctors and nurses when there’s marketing to be paid for.

So where are these wasteful hospitals? Dr Crippen’s looking for them. I want to know where they are. And I’m sure the electorate surrounding the identified hospitals will be interested.

So come on, Pat, tell us: Which hospitals have too many healthcare staff?

Interact with this post

Your Comments and Responses

“Too many doctors and nurses doing the wrong thing” I would have nodded sagely at… but “too many doctors and nurses”? Very surprising.

» This comment was received at 23:19 on 24 November 06

Indeed… but then, if there’s one thing Patricia Hewitt never is, it’s predictable. Congratulations on a great blog, there, too!

» This comment was received at 14:05 on 28 November 06

This post has been referenced by another on this site:
sjhoward.co.uk » Hazel Blears: The NIMBY minister

[...] Hazel Blears is the chairman of the Labour Party. The Labour Party have decided, in their wisdom, that cutting the number of hospitals will improve the NHS, since the NHS clearly has too many doctors and nurses. Hazel Blears is, apparently, in agreement. Yet she is protesting against the closure of her local hospital. [...]

» This pingback was received at 14:02 on 28 December 06

This post has been referenced by another on this site:
sjhoward.co.uk » For the good of us all, Blair must fall

[...] MMC meaning there aren’t enough jobs to go round, and a Health Secretary who believes we have too many doctors and that last year was the ‘best ever’ for the NHS. Patricia Hewitt announced [...]

» This pingback was received at 15:46 on 28 January 07

This post has been referenced by another post on someone else's blog:
Medic Facility blog on health » Blog Archive » The BritMeds 2007 (5)

[...] to MMC meaning there aren’t enough jobs to go round, and a Health Secretary who believes we have too many doctors and that last year was the ‘best ever’ for the NHS. Patricia Hewitt announced she’d get NHS [...]

» This pingback was received at 12:24 on 04 February 07

This post has been referenced by another on this site:
sjhoward.co.uk » MTAS: Breaks spirits, breaks doctors, breaks the law

[...] should treat animals alongside humans, that NHS debt doubling is a good thing, that the NHS has too many doctors and nurses, and that dirty sheets are the way forward. She’s presided over an absolutely catastrophic [...]

» This pingback was received at 22:14 on 26 April 07

Write a new comment or response