Give us horse sense in hospital, not officialese

As I sat in a waiting room for some medical tests at St James’s University Hospital in Leeds recently, I was reminded of the old saying “a donkey is a horse designed by a committee”.

For on the waiting room wall I read the following corporate vision of the hospital: “We commit to delivering services from a patient focussed, fit for purpose environment, enabling consolidation of resources and provision of a safe, efficient and cost effective service achieving quality clinical outcomes and improving patient experience.”

That is “hospital speak” for you. Outcomes indeed. It makes you feel like lumps of meat being examined by trading standards inspectors.

So I was prompted to pen a simpler and shorter alternative: “All staff endeavour to provide caring, effective and efficient advice and treatment within an appropriate environment and available budgets.”

In this context, efficient 
means doing things right and effective means doing the right things.

Perhaps readers can create their own versions.

Whatever the wording, the hospital staff gave me excellent and caring attention.

Well done the staff at St James’s.