History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce

This week’s corporate National Health Service shenanigans at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro, defy belief. The resignation of the RCH Trust chairman Martin Watts has severe implications for the future management of the hospital.

We may have to wait for an Employment Appeals Tribunal to fill in the gaps. All I can say for certain is that these days there are lots of ways to get yourself sacked, which a few years ago would not even have merited a reprimand, and that the words “coherent” and “management” do not sit well together at Treliske.

Back to Karl Marx. In October 2008, the then RCHT chief executive John Watkinson was suspended for “whistle-blowing” details of plans to move cancer treatment out of Cornwall. The RCHT chairman, Peter Davies, resigned in protest at the plans. Mr Watkinson subsequently won an unfair dismissal claim and was awarded £1.2 million compensation.

At this time the RCHT was £50 million in debt and technically bankrupt. Anyone who, a few years ago, thought the NHS was pretty rubbish at managing its affairs in Cornwall probably had a good case.

And why should we care? Because in October last year the government approved, in principle, the idea that NHS bosses in Cornwall should be given more power to run their own affairs, free from “interference” (ie “supervision”) from Whitehall.

A final decision on whether Cornwall’s main hospital should be given self-governing “Foundation” status is due soon.

Skipper is a bit of a traditionalist, and yet to be convinced that the National Health Service is safe in the hands of local managers, no matter who they are.