More On The PDs' Reality Distortion Field
14/03/07 21:48
When I saw
that PD poster about health for the
first time, I just laughed. They have some cheek,
as they are peddling a blatant lie, but probably
feel that they have to try to point to
some sort of achievement by Mary
Harney as Minister for Health. The claims are
deliberately vague, and virtually impossible to
quantify or deny.
Shorter waiting times? In comparison to when? How are they measured? Waiting times for what - getting a bone set or being treated for a heart attack? At what point does the clock start - when you initially present at A & E or when someone acknowledges that you are there?
Cleaner hospitals? How much cleaner? 5%? 10? More? How is it measured? By the number of cases of MRSA infections? Or maybe by someone running their finger along the dado rail in the corridor and seeing how much dust they accumulate?
In fairness to Harney, I don't think that she is any better or worse than many other Ministers for Health we have had in the past. At least she has tried to take on the vested interests like the consultants and the unions. But such is the grip the various sectional interests have on the service that overcoming them is probably a greater task than any one individual can achieve.
But this poster campaign is a step too far. Even if Steve Jobs himself, the master of the Reality Distortion Field, was doing the PR for the PDs, no-one would believe him on this one.
Shorter waiting times? In comparison to when? How are they measured? Waiting times for what - getting a bone set or being treated for a heart attack? At what point does the clock start - when you initially present at A & E or when someone acknowledges that you are there?
Cleaner hospitals? How much cleaner? 5%? 10? More? How is it measured? By the number of cases of MRSA infections? Or maybe by someone running their finger along the dado rail in the corridor and seeing how much dust they accumulate?
In fairness to Harney, I don't think that she is any better or worse than many other Ministers for Health we have had in the past. At least she has tried to take on the vested interests like the consultants and the unions. But such is the grip the various sectional interests have on the service that overcoming them is probably a greater task than any one individual can achieve.
But this poster campaign is a step too far. Even if Steve Jobs himself, the master of the Reality Distortion Field, was doing the PR for the PDs, no-one would believe him on this one.