One of my brothers has been a
lifelong fan of Millwall Football Club. I don’t think they have been in the Premier
League, and probably never will. Currently they are 12th in the EFL Championship
League. Their position in the league table, and all their various successes and
failures, have never deterred him from following his team. Likewise, I have a
friend on social media who is a Manchester City fan. Goes to all the games,
wherever they are being played. I think it’s fair to say that the 2024 season
was excruciating for the Man City fans. Did it stop my friend from going to the
matches? Not a bit.
By now, regular readers of this
blog will have realised this week’s posting is not about football or snooker per
se, but about League Tables. Last week saw the reintroduction of league
tables in the NHS. Those of you who have been around for as long as I have will
remember that it was Tony Blair’s Labour government that first introduced
league tables for hospitals back in 2000. They were cunningly disguised as ‘star
ratings’. In 2000, the Secretary of State for Health was one Alan Milburn. Spookily,
today he is the lead Non-Executive Director for the current interim NHS England,
and Chief Advisor to Wes Streeting (our current Secretary of State for Health
and Social Care).
The ‘star ratings’ approach
didn’t work, and any gains made to the transparency of services being provided
did not lead to noticeable overall improvements to NHS services. The ratings were
abandoned in 2010. I argue that league tables didn’t work then, and I cannot
see them working now. The UK media had a field day when the tables were
published, reporting that four out of five NHS Trusts were failing. However, the
financial metrics used in the league tables has (perhaps unintentionally)
skewed the results, and the outcomes published don’t always reflect the
totality or the quality of care being provided. Sadly, I think most folk won’t
understand the nuances of the current league tables, and even if they did, they
probably have limited choices when it comes to where they receive their health care.
My local Acute Trust is Blackpool
Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. It was ranked 125th out of
134 acute providers nationally. I have been a Non-Executive Director there, and
yes it does have its problems. However, when Jane and I had to use its Urgent
and Emergency care services earlier this year, the care and treatment we got
was simply brilliant, and truly lifesaving.
That episode of care ended with a
transfer to Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust, over in Preston.
They are ranked 127th out of 134 acute trusts nationally. Jane spent
nearly two months in their neurological high care unit and the treatment she
received was first class, and the care given was a brilliant example of what
compassionate person-centred care looks like. In both cases, Jane had nowhere else
to go to receive her health care.
A bigger potential problem than a
lack of patient choice, might be that health care professionals might avoid seeking
employment in a ‘failing’ health care organisation. Likewise, unless Wes
introduces a ‘transfer’ scheme similar to how football clubs operate, I
don’t think financial incentives will persuade leaders of high performing organisations
to take on a failing organisation. Other than moving to Taiwan it’s always
good to keep an open mind with changes such as these league tables come along. Time will tell
if they do better than the previous ‘star ratings’. As for Manchester
City, Millwall and Ronnie, I wish them, and those who support them all the very
best for this year’s games.