Waiting Times

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 17 May 2012.

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Photo of Neil Findlay Neil Findlay Labour

I declare an interest, in that my wife is an NHS Lothian employee.

Not only did the cabinet secretary not come to the chamber to make a statement on the report but, now that we have a debate, she has been in the chamber for only a few speeches. I have no idea where she is, and she might at least have had the courtesy to remain to listen to members’ speeches.

I was shocked but not all that surprised by the findings of the report into the management culture at NHS Lothian, which exposed outrageous practices, threatening behaviour and the use of unacceptable language against staff, such as

“If you don’t reach your targets you can collect your P45” and

“those of you with mortgages and career aspirations had better be afraid”.

Such words and tactics are those of playground bullies, not caring professionals.

All this was prompted by the blatant manipulation of the waiting time figures. We have now uncovered what was going on, and it is clear that waiting times and the management culture are inextricably linked.

In looking into the issues, we are entitled to ask when the Scottish Government was first alerted to the bullying culture at NHS Lothian. Were the actions those of a rotten few, or was there a toxic mix of unrealistic Government demands against a backdrop of staff and resource cuts? Why does such a culture exist and what is to be done about it? How has the intolerable pressure that is being placed on the remaining staff, who are striving to meet waiting time targets, impacted on patient care? We need answers to those questions and many more.

I think that Sarah Boyack referred to the Investors in People report of November 2010, which started to expose some of the issues. It highlighted how

“some senior managers bully us with constant targets targets targets shouting and relentless pressure” and said that leadership was

“based significantly on the hierarchy and power and was often described as ‘command and control’.”

Terms such as “bullying”, “blame culture” and “fear” were littered throughout the report. Why did no one at NHS Lothian or Government level do anything about that at the time? What did the chairman and the board do? Did they inform the Scottish Government?

I am glad to see that the cabinet secretary has returned from her travels. Will she tell us when she knew about the problems at NHS Lothian? I will happily take an intervention from her if she wants to respond.