Cynics R Us

£12bn. Which is probably about 20 something billion dollars. It’s a lot of money isn’t it? Even if I work overtime I could not get close to that target.
The amount is astonishing but the fact that it may exceed that total is horrifying.

I am not a computer expert but I AM a computer user. At work I rely on them to produce information whereby the Operators (I work in a Switchboard) can identify who is on call for the various Medical and non-medical services that the Hospital provides. - It is worth noting that when I first started, this information was written out with one of those old-fashioned pen type things! This was a long laborious process that meant accurate copying of names and (phone) numbers. As anyone can see, the system has an immediate flaw; No matter how good you are, mistakes will happen.
So I got a PC and typed out the full list of on-call contact names (amounting to a couple of hundred). Then I designed a form that could be easily used by a simple drag & drop method and thus, a new era was born. We dragged ourselves into the twenty first century.
Life became easier. The Operators gave thanks for a clear, legible sheet of paper with clear and concise information. True we still rely on the various Departments to supply us with rotas and timetables of the said information, but overall the system works well and we are happy to go with it. I have even gone to lengths to design and build a Database (via Microsoft Access, that gives more information than is actually required.
However, enough about my part.
Government. They are ultimately responsible for the NHS (National Health Service). The dear old Department of Health. Bless ‘em. Sitting in their ivory towers without a clue as to what goes on in the real world… They decided one day that what was needed was a Super Duper Computer System that could record and hold ALL Medical Records for everyone in the Country. All Hospitals will need to sign up to it and it will allow a Doctor In Scotland to gain access to a visiting patient from Cornwall’s’ medical records. Wonderful. Think of the advantage. No more cumbersome, bulky folders of notes written in dubious handwriting. Instant access to x-rays or notes at the touch of a button. Ahh, visionary!
Go for it they said. Let the bits and bytes beckon as bids are brokered.. Contracts were handed out. MONEY was spent. And is still being spent. Hundreds of pounds pour daily into purses held open for the purpose. Some contractors have pulled out saying that it is doomed to failure. Cynics!
We (the Hospital) embraced the new order. We have a live version of the system up and running. And everyone seems to hate it. It is cumbersome, slow, unclear and unhelpful. But, it seems to occupy Managers who battle on as best they can. Which is not saying much really, Managers as a breed in the NHS are a complete waste of time because they do not actually produce anything that comes close to Patient Care.
With the OLD system we (switchboard) were given a printed list of in-patients at the end of every working day. This was printed out on an old daisy-wheel printer onto double width paper and it gave details of who was where and when people phoned and asked if we happened to know what ward someone was on, we had a list ready and waiting to refer to. Alas modernity in its dark veil has got in the way.
As a department we ask for little. A simple list of patients is though one of primary importance. However it is also one that befuddles the brains of the administrators of the wonder-system. It seems that this new all-encompassing IT wonder is not capable of producing a simple list in A-Z order of patients.
Now, it seems to me that any database should be able to give results at the touch of a couple of buttons. I have a database on my PC at work and it can do exactly that. It can give me a list of Bleep numbers and who holds them, Pagers likewise. Mobile phones and home numbers can be pulled out easily. But, this wondrous new system is incapable of doing a straight list of patients.
I have written (e-mails) to a whole host of people within the Hospital. Some have responded, others have shrugged and passed it on. After some three months we are still without a list…
The solution (after an e-mail to our Chief Executive) is to plug us into this new CRS System and then we will have access to details of who is where. Which sounds fine, until you realise that this will mean spending money on extra computers so each individual can log into the system. New desks to turn the Operators desk into a proper workstation. Before this can happen we need to be trained (overtime needed here to get those that work nights to come in during the day to take part in the training), and numerous forms to be filled in to make sure that we are who we say we are and to swear oaths to the gods of IT that we shall not divulge information (that we don’t want) to other people. Add to this the time that this will take…
£12bn and counting!
I am willing to take a bet… I am willing to bet that someone with access to this CRS CAN produce an alphabetical list of patients. Even if it means a little bit of copy & paste work. I will do exactly that in (no timescale here, we await the trainers and experts to come and show us how to use it). I remain cynical; but that is something I have grown used to. Rest assured that I will produce a list for my Operators to use. I am betting my job on it.
… Watch this space.