I could not help but notice that Addenbrooke's Hospital, as part of Cambridge University Hospitals, claims, all over the place, that the three pillars of its operations are:
- Safe,
- Kind, and
- Excellent.
I might not have been at my best, but it occurred to me that, when setting performance standards for a hospital, these represented pretty low levels of aspiration. Why? Because the opposites are:
- Unsafe,
- Unkind, and
- Indifferent.
Since no one expects a hospital to be any of these things, although I know all three can happen, I felt, yet again, that here was the strongest evidence of the corporatisation of public service in the UK, and that, by seeking to achieve that goal through branding, all that had actually happened was that what should be implicit had been degraded into bland slogans, with the sole potential outcome of alienating almost everyone.
And I bet someone was paid a lot to come up with that nonsense, with the aim of differentiating this hospital from others, in the process seeking to undermine the essential logic of the NHS, which should be the provision of high-quality care for everyone.
Nye Bevan would have been furious, I thought.
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So, they’ve never heard of Hippocrates then? I would have thought that that was perfectly adequate unless Jacqueline thinks otherwise?
🙂
There certainly were no golden times in the past but in my lifetime I have experienced the degradation of values once implicit as you say. It was common back in the 60’s and 70’s to blame the ‘young people’ who were tearing up the rigid social etiquette that had held these values in place up to then. I have no love of that rigidity which in some ways denied the very values it purported to uphold and all other things being equal I suspect that a freer way of expressing those values could have emerged.
The gathering pace of growth – both of production and people – however, was and is still a huge factor in the loss of social values that used to be part of the fabric of life. The sheer volume of people requiring attention and the speed at which that attention was demanded made a quaintness of caring and concern. This of course was ably encouraged by the neoliberal creed of individualism and the starving of public services of the resources they needed to keep up with the growth this greedy politics required.
I think it is still there, though. While some have donned a rhino hide to protect themselves from the unbearable tension between what they are asked to do – or more often – not to do and seeing the effect on desperate people there are also many who still try to uphold those values in the face of managerial indifference and would blossom again should this become once more core to the work of services. I should know. I’m married to one.
Jacqueline was one of those. It burned her out in the end.
almost every school now has a three word motto
I noted that a number of companies have ‘investors in people’ plaques when I was counselling people whose employers didn’t seem to be treating them very well.
Style seems to be more important than substance in the neo-liberal world
Agreed
It’s a gripe of mine as it applies to so many corporate ‘values’. I don’t recall where I first heard your point made (might have been Simon Fanshawe’s The Power of Difference), but essentially if the opposite is patently rubbish, it’s not a value!
As we know, Enron’s company values were painted large on the wall of the office. They were Integrity, Communication, Respect and Excellence.
But yes, Addenbrooke’s words are particularly meaningless. That said, it is a good hospital and I am extremely fortunate to have it as my local. All the best for your recovery.
Thanks
Ah yes, mission statements (shudders).
In case any schools are struggling to choose one, I present, free and gratis, the following straplines:
Eaten College
We look after your children so you don’t have to
Six Oaks Academy
We’d leave tomorrow if it wasn’t for the holidays
St Custards Junior School
We aspire to be the best. And for it to rain beer.
To be clear, it’s the statements that are the target, not the schools; like the NHS, schools achieve amazing things despite sadly insufficient resources.
Also, to be fair, we can’t blame neoliberalism for everything; in 1968 my Grammar school had a three word motto – Age Quod Agis – but, cunningly, it riled fewer people because nobody knew what it meant 🙂
🙂
I can’t remember what the motto of my grammar school was, but after 7 years of being bored rigid I decided it should be a quote from Macbeth, with one vital letter added….Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty place from day to day.
As you might have guessed, I was a somewhat grumpy teenager
🙂
I wish we had an Addenbrooke’s in Shropshire.
It’s good – but nit as good as it was.
Arbeit macht frei is another three word slogan – you think we would learn…
I hope you are recovering.
I am, a bit, thank you.
When I worked for the then state-owned power company in Western Australia back around 2006, the mission statement was “Have fun delighting our customers”. I thought this would have been perfect for a local brothel but was not entirely appropriate for a public utility, though I wasn’t brave enough to point this out to the CEO when we both happened to be standing in front of the fancy, engraved plaque it was written on.
🙂
It’s easy in these dark times to become cynical. But when you first saw your wording of the sign, I had a different take.
Aldenbrooke’s is an NHS hospital, and the NHS workers continue to care, continue to come to work every day, for grueling shifts in underfunded conditions. I saw these signs as a morale and moral reminders: don’t forget why you come, why you continue to come: to provide care for your patients and each other in the form of these three ideals.
This reminded me of the greetings embedded in language, which serve as the continual reminders of our ideal relationship with each other. I have friends who have served more than 50 years in the Australian Labor Party, who when they meet still embrace each other with “comrade”. This touches me, especially when they include me.
I’m reminded of the American “hi” and “hey”, which though Yankee-compressed, replaced class-stratified forms of address. Or the older English forms of address you might still hear in the counties: luv, pet, pal, addressed even to strangers. Even more formal forms for departure are compressed expressions of care: farewell, and goodbye. The latter is a compression of “God be with you.”
I’m also touched by the Muslim greeting, As-Salamu Alaykum, which translates as “peace be upon you”, but denotes a sacred contract: You are safe with me. No harm will come to you. Also, the Zulu “sawubona”, which translates as “I see you”: I see you as a human being. And the response: “I see you, too.”
So maybe the Aldenbrook signs serve the same purpose: as constant background reminders: don’t become cynical, remember why you came: to care for your patients and each other.
Take care. You are safe with me. I see you.
I like what you say.
I would like to believe those who were were probably paid a great deal to come up with the Addenbrooke’s slogan think as you do.
My misfortune is that I don’t.
My local hospital has the values ‘Kind, Connected and Bold’
Goodness knows how much someone was paid to come up with that tripe.
My partner works for that Trust and the values certainly are not applied internally.
🙂
Bit off topic, but when I was a kid at school in Birmingham the corporation buses had the city arms painted on them, with the very appropriate wording “Forward”
Good livery too as i recall.