Effective consultation

Currently The Cabinet Office is reviewing the Government’s consultation policy. The Cabinet Office is seeking views from the widest possible range of organisations and individuals on how the Government can improve its consultation processes and would be grateful for your responses.
This consultation is just coming to the end of it's 12 week consultation period and judging by the comments available is getting a bit of panning. Not surprising considering some of the recent consultations.

It seems that consultations are not exactly what is happening. Those that do happen are poorly advertised and communicated and the results of the consultations appear to be ignored if they don't agree with what is being consulted on. Typical of some of the comments is the one below.

What is the point of stakeholder consultation? The HSE engaged consultants last year (at enormous expense) to conduct a review of gas safety. Numerous stakeholders were invited to attend and almost every recommendation has been ignored to date. Rather than implement the changes necessary and reduce regulatory burdens as it promised, it has decided to try and implement competition for CORGI instead. So unfortunately stakeholder participation only works when they you have identical views to those conducting it, otherwise your opinion (and the consultants views) will be ignored.

Recent controversial consultations have included

Planned Closure of District General Hospitals.

Nuclear Consultation: Here and here

Effective consultation: asking the right questions, asking the right people, listening to the answers : Department of Health - Consultations

Consultation Brown Style

Brown explains Consultation

This is taken straight from the blog of Barry Monk who is trying to save Bedford Hospital.

Update: looks like the source of this is Dr Rays Focal Spot. More details and comments on it there.

If it is true it is just yet another example of the control freak that is Gordon Brown. I shudder to think what his next subject for his Citizens Juries will be. We have already seen the farce of the Nuclear Power "Consultation" which has had the likes of Greenpeace up in arms.

Remember it is the NHS that Gordon Brown wants to make a key part of his Election Plans (October 25th?)

A medical friend has just sent me this:

Yesterday evening I had an insight into the workings of Nulabours "consultation" process on the planned closure of NHS District General Hospitals and replacement with dumbed down polyclinics.

A few weeks ago invitations to attend a public consultation were sent to consultants at our Trust. We were only given one day to reply for the meeting a few days later even though we have to give 6 weeks notice of leave because of "choose and book".

Obviously this meant that most of us could not attend but one consultant did take up the invitation.

The location of the meeting was kept secret until three days before the event and when this consultant was eventually told the location and turned up in Birmingham it turned out that medical staff were outnumbered 2:1 by laypeople specifically chosen by an agency to attend the event. The media were present and had obviously been invited to publicise the event.

The delegates were split up into groups and each allocated an electronic voting device. A "minder" was allocated to each group.

Then the stars of the show arrived: Gordon Brown, Alan Johnson and Ara Darzi.

There followed a rapid succession of questions from the podium on which the delegates were asked to vote. The minder was available to suggest the best answer if there was any doubt.

Strangely, almost all the votes were 2:1 in favour of Nulabour's policy. Even the question: "Would you prefer gynaecological surgery to be carried out in your GP practice even if it meant the closure of your DGH facility?" was answered with 2:1 in favour.

Following the "consultation" the medical delegates were told to leave but the other 2/3 of the audience were kept back and each given an envelope. My colleague was intrigued by this and managed to catch one of the "chosen ones" and ask about the contents. Each envelope contained £75 in cash!

So now the consultation is over and the results indicate there is overwhelming public and doctor support for closing down the DGHs. I can only say that the way the voting was done makes the "Blue Peter" voting fraud seem like, well, "Blue Peter".

So now you know how it works

Save Bedford Hospital