What the Francis report will really say when it is published on Wednesday is that parts of the NHS aren’t good with people.

‘If chief execs go off script they are accused of disloyalty and lacking leadership skills’

It turns out that hospitals aren’t very good with people. They are not very good with people as patients, especially if they are elderly and so many of them are.

They are not very good with people as relatives: ignoring their concerns, dismissing their complaints and generally being defensive.

They are not very good with people as staff, resulting in low morale and people complaining of being over worked and undervalued.

They are not very good with people as citizens as decisions are made about the future of hospitals which ignore the wishes of local people.

Renewed focus

The senior managers are accused of fostering a bullying culture where potential whistle blowers are intimidated, mistakes are covered up and inspectors are mislead. The chief executives whose job it is to tackle this on a day-to-day bases say the job is becoming impossible.

If there is pressure on their staff it is because there is immense pressure on them to implement unpopular and major changes, deliver big budget savings and hit demanding performance targets. And if they go off script they are accused of disloyalty and lacking the necessary leadership skills.

So it’s obvious where the NHS’s focus should be. Focus on the people.

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