We are all in this together, well not if you are in a union.

Procrastinator333

N1AK wrote: »

Targets in the NHS are constantly brought up, by people who have analysed its issues, as being incredibly damaging.

To take your head of catering example:

1. Forget investing in future savings, chances are you'll have moved on, save the money and up the bonus. I've seen this happen in private industry.
2. Redefine who is supposed to be fed and what meals. If you can cut the number of meals you give customers by 2%, big saving, bonus improves. Pity it means your gran won't get breakfast if she's leaving the hospital before midday etc.
3. If you know you're going to fail somehow cut your losses. A hospital which will score badly because it needs renovation; ideally it would be renovated, however it may be more effective just to take the rating hit and serve really cheap, rubbish food and save money. A hospital has an issue meaning lunch is going to be late, if they start lunch late they'll miss the deadline for dinner: Sod lunch, you've been marked down anyway, focus on scoring for dinner. This is what happens in hospitals already, if you go to A&E and they miss the deadline to see you, you get moved to the bottom of the queue while they focus on treating people they haven't missed the deadline on.

I'm all for seeing performance related pay, and ideally management by objectives rather than drowing with targets, in the NHS; but, it really isn't as simple as you'd think.

I'm not saying there are not pitfalls. But to take your points:

1) Junior staff are linked solely to that year. But what is to stop performance related pay being linked to the next 3 years customer satisfaction results for the senior guys?
2) The person setting the targets should obviously not be the same person trying to meet them. The head of catering doesn't get to define any of that stuff, so no option here if set properly.
3) I think I said somewhere these are all a bit off the cuff, but I would have thought something like every patient who stays longer that 24 hours should be asked to complete a quick questionaire. Not rating each meal, just an overall score for their stay. Month by month you would get a % of patients who scored satisfied or very satisified.

The head of catering can only get a bonus if there is both a budget saving and an increase in satisfaction. So if they just screw down the pennies, they will get zero satisfaction and zero bonus. Likewise, they splash the cash, 5 points up on satisfaction, they get zip as they have overspent.

Couldn't agree more that there are numerous issues around this type of thing and people will always look to play the system, but I reckon it could be done. Just my opinion! All mute point anyway, it will never happen.