White elephants
Have you ever seen a white elephant? Dr Grumble hasn't. Not a real one anyway. But he has seen metaphorical white elephants. An example would be Concorde. Concorde used to fly over Dr Grumble's house. It made a distinctive noise. It was loud. But Dr Grumble still liked it. It generally flew over every day at the same time but always, if he could, Dr Grumble would look up to the sky and admire a beautiful white elephant. Some white elephants are worth Dr Grumble's share of the expense. Dr Grumble is not the only one who used to feel this way about Concorde.
Some white elephants are not worth paying for. But the nature of white elephants is that somebody will pay for them nevertheless. And that somebody is often Dr Grumble and the rest of the British taxpayers.
Do you know why white elephants are called white elephants? You can find out from wikipedia. Do you know which particular white elephants Dr Grumble is thinking about?
6 comments:
I also live in a house which is under the flight path into Heathrow and loved it when Concorde flew over. You could hear it long before it arrived overhead thereby having enough time to get into the garden to view it flying overhead. One of the most beautiful sights that anyone could wish to see. I really miss it.
But I know that there is no way that I would go running anywhere to visit one of Lord Darzi's polyclinics. I like to be a patient who is known by their GP, who can view their GP as a friend who knows without being told when I am feeling very low because of depression and who doesn't require me to go over all the details of my medical history to enable an effective consultation to take place. I am quite happy to visit a hospital with properly equipped departments and a choice of specialists when I need something other than normal primary care. Surely a specialist like Lord Darzi cannot believe that I am going to get the best possible care by attending a polyclinic which is both less effective than my GPs surgery and than one of the hospitals that I can choose from for specialist care. It is criminal that such a specialist has sold their soul for a peerage and the opportunity to destroy patients' faith in a system that works for one that is just another way of wasting precious NHS resources.
Beautifully put, Mad Sad Girl. Beautifully put.
I wouldn't mind popping into a polyclinic on my way to work to have a sticking plaster put on a cut hand. I can not see it being of any benefit otherwise.
If the poached patients are currently in failing single handed practices .. and there are loads of those, then this is fair enough .. That those new centres will employ our sons and daughters; fully qualified GPs who can't get a decent job because of the greed of those single handlers, then this is fair enough too
The white elephant is leaving the situation as it stands IMVHO as a patient who was on the recieving end once of a single handed very ill run practice and a mother of three junior doctors who have every right to a bright future.
And ... Did you know that 'Lord' D gets paid for only 3 days a week? .. And, has to donate all monies made from his private work to either Imperial College or St Mary's Hospital? .. and wasn't he a Sir before he became a Lord?
Convince me anybody and I will change my supporting Lord D immediately ..
The problem with Lord Darzi, Sam, is that he is so personable and charming. He is undoubtedly a man of great ability: but he is a front man - the acceptable face of New-Labour-NHS.
He knows very little about General Practice (few surgeons do) and he has been manipulated into the position he is in so that people like you and I want to believe in him.
But he does not understand the nice sounding review he is fronting is essentially flim-flam and (as ever) the devil is in the detail.
If you perceive the problem as 'greedy' single handers, then that is (I'm afraid) far too simplistic. You need to take the blinkers off.
But I did say 'convince me' JD! Put forward reasons why you think the Darzi Review is 'flim flam' with the devil tied in as you put it, then tell me what would you do if you were in his shoes; ie, solutions to the many problems including the jobless but fully qualified GPs, the failing single handed practices, the aspiring costs, ageing population ...etc
And, I have no idea if Lord D is 'personable and charming' or not, I have never seen him let alone meet him but I suppose he must be if he is described by the opposition as 'an honest man amongst theives!' And to be honest, I can't believe that a 'doctor' of his abilities can not understand general practice! I find that concept hilarious to say the least! :-)
I know I am going against the tide but I have never followed anything just because everybody says I should, nor went against the government just because it is the government which is what I feel is what many people do without applying common sense. If that's not 'blinkered' JD, I don't know what is!
And I am waiting to be convinced then I will be the first one to fight Lord D and anyone else in power if there is 'reason' to do so. I am known for being a proper rebel after all .. help me 'unlock' this talent everybody, give me the 'reason' to rebel ... l but until such time, I like to excercise my right to democracy, I AM a Darzi supporter :-)
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