Share |
The truths they don't want you to read....

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Rating public services

Gordon Brown is on to a winner here with his suggestion that the public be able to rate public services to keep us better informed about the quality of the options available to us.

It seems a crying shame to restrict the rating options to Councils, GPs and nurseries when there are so many other services that are crying our for rating.

Gordon, your wish is my command....... hence the new poll.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is noticeable that politicians love to come out with these sound bites before an election and are allowed to create more bureacracy. But, they never allow the public to measure their own performances while in Government. They tend to cover their own backs by heaping more paperwork on teachers, nurses and doctors, but rarely do you hear of any need for politicians and councillors to have their boxes ticked to show whether they achieve any specific targets. Why has this not been happening with public civil services already? Is it because it would make too uncomfortable reading perhaps? We're supposed to have a democracy, but you rarely see the minutes of say a council meeting until weeks after the event. I suppose this move will be another excuse for the government to squander more £billions on a public service supercomputer which won't work, just like the NHS one.

Anonymous said...

i actually think it is a bad idea. i know that it is all the rage to have polls for this and that - but what is to stop one well connected person bringing down a whole hospital? or even a government? i am pro government by the people it is just that i fear this will turn out to be government by the person! Also what is to stop the government itself taking part in this poll? i can hear them already saying "oh dear that hospital/post office/ police station has so many votes against it - we'll have to shut it down!" [muffled voice] "not that that was part of our plan, honesly." A third dilemma comes to me... will they allow for the fact that some areas have less people voting than others "oh dear the western isles only got 5,000 votes; where as glasgow got 10,000 - therefore Glasgow's hospital must do better work." fourthly the last thing most people want to do when they come home from hospital is sit down at a computer and tell everyone how great or awful the experience was.

Anonymous said...

fifly - sorry this just came to me - what you will get is a lot more complaints than compliments; this is neither good for staff morale nor for the morale of those using the service.

Anonymous said...

sixthly, just noticed the poll, sorry!

Anonymous said...

Angus,

On public services have you yet to get your council spies to asertain just how many of our overtly unbiased elected members took up the offer of a free dinner with SSE last night?