Heroes Not Zombies

Morag Wilson, a 32 year Dietetics Manager in the NHS committed suicide by stabbing herself with a kitchen knife then throwing herself from a bridge 100 feet above the Manchester ship canal. The coroner said she was driven to this sad end by the pressures of her job. Specifically, Agenda for Change had produced very disparate outcomes for dieticians in her region and resulted in widespread resentment amongst staff. The coroner said this

“I find it extremely sad that a young woman with such a lot going for her, very dedicated to her work, has been reduced to despair by the pressure upon her at work,” he said. “When people introduce these rules and systems perhaps a bit more thought as to what effect they will have on people would be helpful.”

The NHS should be a people focussed organisation – focussed on the patients and those who deliver the health care. Targets, budgets, managerial processes, should all be measured against the impacts they will have on people. Please, can we have a health service that cares, that really cares about people?