Must admit, I’m baffled beyond bafflement the more I learn about the workings of the NHS. Particularly this whole patient safety stuff that is big at the mo. Details circulating on twitter this morning about the latest HSJ money spinning awards [for a full analysis of previous HSJ delights, click here] now combined with the annual Patient Safety Congress.

What confuses me is the content of this congress (concordat/concrap). ‘Making the business case for safety‘ and ‘Preparing for a CQC inspection‘. Eh? Patient safety? Isn’t that about keeping patients, er, safe? Not number crunching and coaching to pass inspections. Serious brain melt stuff.

At the same time, at a more personal level, the Sloven board chair last week reiterated Sloven’s acceptance of the Verita findings and recommendations into LB’s death. One of the reasons the Sloven bigwigs wanted to meet with us apparently was to confirm their “absolute acceptance of every aspect of the Verita report”.

Oh. That’s a bit odd. Why the hell are they wasting public money having a legal team, including barristers, who have tried to narrow down the scope of the inquest then? Why have legal representation at all? 

I just don’t get it.

It’s like the music is playing loud and clear, but Sloven, and the NHS, insist on dancing to a different tune.