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[Peter Tomlinson]

Mary Hawking wrote:

>>> Any ideas on damage limitation?
>>
>> Extend existing contracts by 3 months, or perhaps until the end of 
>> the year. After all, they are not aligned with the fiscal year, so 
>> what does it matter when the changeover occurs?
>>
>> Peter
>
> Mary Hawking wrote:
>
> These are *training* posts - and change every 6 months.
> Are you suggesting that either the training due in the August intake 
> rotation  should be curtailed by 3 or 5 months,  that you (as a 
> patient) would be happy for future Consultants and GPs to have a block 
> of their structured training omitted, or that, because of managerial 
> incompetence the training of all doctors caught in this mess - and 
> don't forget, some of these are just now finishing their finals, so 
> don't have a current post - should be prolonged by 6 months?
>
> The NHS is a large organisation: this suggestion suggests a certain 
> lack of understanding of the situation and organisation of the NHS: 
> just hope it isn't universal!

The organisation has already been quite seriously disrupted in one area: 
organising the next set of posts for the affected doctors. It faces 
continuing damage as junior doctors get moved into the wrong posts, or 
are unfairly denied posts, or as posts are given to doctors for whom in 
a fair system there would not be posts at this grade this time. It needs 
to adapt to minimise the disruption and also ensure fair treatment for 
the affected doctors. Maybe the process can no longer, in fairness, 
operate in the same rigid cycle. Sticking plaster for the computer-based 
system and compensation isn't going to be good enough (in particular 
financial compensation, i.e. awarding damages, is, in my view, not 
appropriate). Now it will take some time to resolve the situation, and 
indeed, if contracts are extended, I accept that there is the problem of 
doctors coming into the system for the first time (maybe pay them a 
salary to continue studying; arrange temporary , paid, work experience 
posts; offer bursaries to study abroad, etc). Offering the continuance 
of existing contracts is just one part of the solution. And, to take us 
a little way back to this list's topics, those responsible for the 
cockup should face major penalties (including those who commissioned a 
computer system that would be put into operation without full testing 
for security, function and capacity, in flagrant disregard of govt 
policy and guidelines - such testing would probably have meant delaying 
the system's introduction until the next round, but so what?).

Only yesterday I was at a meeting between two trade associations with a 
presence in  ICT, one established and the other fairly new, and the 
general topic of educating the public sector in ways of implementing its 
own policies was a major item in our discussions. One side said that its 
a very slow job getting this right; the other has views on how to speed 
it up, but in this purdah political period before local elections and 
Welsh and Scottish elections we are all keeping our heads down.

Peter