So when I think about doing something, whether that is a business task or some personal errand, I try to do it as best as I can. In fact I habitually take it to the nth degree and that’s how I just like to do things.
There’s pride and joy at being about to produce a near professional quality birthday cake to creating a property investment spreadsheet that takes into account every minutia of detail you can forsee in the investment process.
However, that is generally not the attitude that most other people and organisations take and it totally winds me up! I’ve always thought, why bother to do something if you aren’t going to put much effort into it. So seems like I’m off on ranting again, and this time it’s about the appalling excuse of an app/web service the NHS is promoting called Patient Access.
This is 2020, and yet they think it’s ok to launch an app that basically promises people they can make GP appointments via your smartphone, BUT in fact most GP centres still don’t allow appointment making through it.
In fact speaking to family and friends, I have yet to find someone who can actually make a GP appointment through it.
So some geniuses sat around and said, I know this is an awesome idea, “appointments via a smart app”. Proceeded to make it, and then no GP uses it.
As flaws go, this is probably fatal. In fact because it’s core function isn’t being fulfilled in the majority of cases, it’s highly likely that this will get cut at some point because if no one is using it, there’s evidence to show it’s failed, and funding for it will dry up since apps need time and effort to keep up with changing tech on the smartphones.
I suspect that when you fine tooth comb this problem it’s going to come down to lack of integration between NHS departments and systems, which in turn comes down to lack of investment over the years, however I think it’s probably more fundamental than that. I believe there just isn’t the will to integrate because the effort to do so is too much for your basic GP surgery to undertake, and thus it’s left to the NHS trusts to do it, and these trusts have no agenda to spend more money.
Rant over.
