I see from the news that Alan Johnson has described the debacle at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust as "scandalous". It's breathtaking how Labour take credit for any improvement and good news from the NHS as evidence of their increased funding and sound management, but do not have the honour to admit any political responsibility for such a very serious failure in "their" system that's been under their management for 10 years?

It's a disgrace.

Well said Triarius.

It's all very well chucking billions of pounds at the NHS, but until the necessary reforms are made and the professionals are given control on the way hospitals are run, nothing much is going to improve and the money disappears like sand through a sieve. The Tories could more than fund their tax pledges by stopping such senseless waste and I'm sure they will.

Alan Johnson didn't try to deny that there were these serious and ever growing problems - it appears that workers in hospitals are so worried about reaching 'government targets' that they can't be bothered to wash their hands with soap and water? Sad state of affairs.

What about good cleaning procedures - too difficult to follow? Why can't hospitals follow the guidelines?

why do the government feel the need to push targets onto everything?

crime / nhs / councils etc

none of them work.

canvas:



Because they're too busy chasing meaningless targets to make the Government look good.

On one hand they're being told "this is what you have to do" and on the other they're being told "but you're going to have to do it whilst cutting millions from your budget".

They're being asked to square an impossible circle and then *they* get the blame for it instead of the Government whose policies they're being forced to implement :-(