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The DH is ‘world-leading’ in pointless bluster

Now, I accept I know sod all about the world outside of general practice, probably because I only emerge from the coalface for the briefest glimpses of daylight before the viral hordes drag me back to the darkness.

But, even in my naivety, I reckon I understand that a DH spokesperson must be some sort of person associated with the DH who speaks. And that, given that this is the person’s job, ie what they do for a living, that they could reasonably be expected to speak something that makes some sort of sense, and has some kind of connection with facts and reality.

In which case, can someone explain to me what exactly is meant by this: ‘This sample survey was carried out before we launched our world-leading plan to improve conditions in general practice’. Because this is what a ‘DH spokesperson’ said in response to a news story reporting that all (OK, most) of us GPs are still planning to retire/leave/reduce our hours/find some other way of hanging up our pick-axe.

In case you’ve sped-read that quote and are under the impression that it might make some kind of sense, it’s the ‘world-leading’ bit I’d like to draw your attention to. I literally cannot believe that the spokesperson spoke that. That said, the GP Forward View does beat the shit out of anything that Swaziland has produced in an effort to save our profession, so that’s probably what they meant.

Or maybe they were just defaulting to the standard way of deflecting considered concern and objection by blustering out ridiculous statements of self-aggrandisement. You know, from the same hastily consulted lexicon of shameless inflation which gave us Gold Standard Frameworks, Integration Pioneers, Beacon Practices, Health Champions, MCP Vanguards et al.

It’s a sure sign that an idea has massive deficiencies when it has to be bigged up by some ridiculously conceited label – a fact which evidently hasn’t been lost on GPs who, according to Pulse’s latest survey, are no less likely to resign than they were before that World-Leading Forward View.

And I doubt that will change until we hear what the Swazis have to say.

Dr Tony Copperfield is a GP in Essex. You can follow him on Twitter @DocCopperfield