Cure the NHS and the cherry tree parable

Cure the NHS and the cherry tree parable

Cure the NHS have made several rather confusing and contradictory pronouncements - although they are not alone in this. One example is the mantra that the problem wasn't the mistakes made, but the cover-up. In fact, of all the allegations made by CTNHS, a cover-up is the flimsiest. There is no evidence for a cover-up at all. 

Other commentators have said similar things - Liam Donaldson stating "To err is human, to cover up is unforgivable, and to fail to learn is inexcusable.” This meme is very much on the lines of the cherry tree parable. The legend is that George Washington chopped down his father's cherry tree. When his father asked who chopped down the tree, the young George confessed and was forgiven. This episode probably never happened, but in any case it is unhelpful. Confession and apology doesn't restore the damage inflicted, and the notion that candour would prevent any punishment or restitution is clearly nonsense. The fact that a criminal or tortfeasor is genuinely remorseful is a mitigating factor, but they still have to be held to account. Otherwise the glib and manipulative wrongdoer goes scotfree.

This rather maudlin meme is a theme with Cure the NHS. One of the bases for their vendetta against Andy Burnham is that he didn't meet the group personally, whereas Jeremy Hunt did. Most people would think that actions are rather important than a cup of tea and some metaphorical hand-holding, but not to Cure the NHS.

Julie Bailey has Tweeted 

we all make errors but no one should ever be harmed in the NHS and We need zero harm & right 1st time

Deb Hazeldine Tweeted
Otherwise loved ones have died in vain, and failings repeated, thats heartbreaking for families

This has the rather puzzling implication that loved ones have not died in vain if those failings are not repeated, as if macabre experiments have suddenly become acceptable in healthcare. Together these pronouncements make for pseudo-sentimental incoherent nonsense. Everyone makes errors, but these errors shouldn't cause any harm? Right 1st time must entail a zero error rate. The zero harm target has been showed to be inimical to honesty and transparency in the construction industry.

Julie Bailey is no patient safety expert, and it's understandable that her statements make no sense. She is simply a relative of a patient. Why then is she being paid to talk to NHS staff? And what is she saying to them?