On the third of February I wrote about record keeping at Lancaster Infirmary and yesterday it became an article on the television news. Basically, confidential documents were scattered across the floor of an office (they are just as confidential on the floor) and patients have missed appointments and been given the wrong medication.
The point that I made was that the picture that got things moving had been leaked to the media to highlight the shocking state of record keeping there and it was only by this leak that progress was made. This was confirmed by the director of Operations and Performance when he said that they weren’t quick enough to deal with a growing problem.
If anyone doubts that we should have leaks then think of this story, but there are many other. The answer is really easy – transparency. Why shouldn’t I go and collect my own documents and then take them back and be able to see where they go? If this is really difficult logistically then why not allow the local newspaper to run articles about different sections of the hospital. Most of all, with all the groups who have rights to check on NHS departments, why wasn’t it corrected earlier?
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