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Joined: Jul 2000
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Hero
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Hero
Joined: Jul 2000
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According to Confucius:
“I hear and I forget; I see and I remember; I do and I understand”.

Confucius said nothing about reading policies then....

What is a Policy?
A policy is a guideline for how to do a specific activity. Sometimes it is for how something is supposed to be run and sometimes it lets you know your rights and responsibilities.
1. A definite course of action adopted for the sake of expediency, facility, etc.
2. A course of action adopted and pursued by a government, ruler, political party, etc.
3. Action or procedure conforming to or considered with reference to prudence or expediency: It was good policy to consent.

So the definition states policies are about action - but in fact most people I speak to never bother to read the medical devices policy, or in fact any policies. So why have them? think


Be Proactive and reactive.
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Super Hero
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Super Hero
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Perhaps that's because there are too many of them! whistle

Too many "Regulatory Bodies" ... too many folk issuing "Guidelines". Too many people dabbling in "Clinical Governance" (whatever that is) whilst the kit mounts upon the "awaiting labour" shelves .... ? think

Too many Chiefs ... too much "management", and not enough hands-on workers ... etc., etc.

If there were just the one set of Policies and Procedures then maybe folk would know where to look, and what to be at. Unfortunately, it seems to me that (in the UK at least), there are at least a dozen "regulators" waiting to pounce on every working guy (you know, the one who's actually trying to get the work done). frown


If you don't inspect ... don't expect.
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Mentor
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Most policies tend to be common sense, and so exist in order to leave the blame with those lacking in such.


I love deadlines, I like the wooshing sound they make as they fly by.
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Super Hero
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Super Hero
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Blame? What's that? The best you can hope for these days is:- "lessons will be learned"! whistle

Anyway (in my experience, at least), common sense ain't that common. frown

But, how about this as a hypothesis:-

1) Too many "policies" from too many sources
2) Badly written and over-complicated (or even conflicting)
3) Too many "highly trained" folk who consider it beneath them to read "policies", anyway

You know the type:-

1) "Oh, I already know all that"
2) "I'm too busy to read all that" ... etc.

(usually whilst gazing into a computer screen - apparently surfing the 'net [one of their Human Rights, surely?], or fiddling about with some hand-held toy or other, engaged in a bit of "social media")

Dare I once again mention that old-fashioned word - discipline! smile

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Scholar
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Scholar
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I'm one of the sad gits that reads policies & they often leave me cringing with the poor level of English used in their creation. Apart from that assuming all your NHS Trusts & generally every hospital wherever has a written policy on the use of mobile phones in various hospital areas what is the level of infringement & enforcement where you're at?

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Super Hero
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Super Hero
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Sorry Paul ... it's "sad gits who..." I'm afraid. tut

But surely you already know the answer to your question(s)? In general, I believe we can expect these results:-

1) "level of infringement" : maximal
2) "level of enforcement" : minimal (and tending to zero)

And aren't the staff the worst offenders? think

As I've said many times before, Policy without Enforcement is just a Statement of Wishful Thinking (badly drafted, or not). frown

But why "poor level of English", I wonder? Doesn't everyone have a Degree these days? Or could it be that the guff has been:-

1) Cut and Pasted from "elsewhere" (and then poorly edited ... or simply not checked)?
2) Written by someone to whom English is a "second language"?


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