Horsham Hospital's Compelling Vision

Our local minor injuries unit is faced with closure. Management consultants, who know all about these things, have tried to paint this as a good thing "going forward"

George Orwell used to cite an example of what happens when people lose track of what their words actually mean. “The fascist octopus has sung its swansong. The Jackboot has been cast into the melting-pot.” This sounds ridiculous. No more ridiculous, however, than the pathetic excuses for closing Horsham Hospital's minor injuries unit.

“When you are looking at minor injuries in any health economy you have to look at what changes you are making. What we have is a compelling vision about how care can be different.” is reasonably difficult to understand because it does not use words to convey information but to obscure it.

Likewise “improving services for the future” by cutting them in the present flies in the face of reason. As for Mr Williams “awaiting utilisation data” and the frankly disingenuous remark that “The central pillar of our existence is public engagement.” we are entitled to ask which planet these wiseacres were addressing.

The NHS, which is supposed to be a National Health Service, is being taken over by very well-paid suits spouting gobbledegook. A single doctor, nurse or cleaner is worth a thousand “mission statements” and “compelling visions”.