NHS doublespeak drove me away from mental health nursing Euphemisms such as ‘cost-improvement’ and ‘management of change’ mask the disastrous impact of cutting frontline staff
Last year the
infrastructure behind research delivery in the NHS was completely re-organised; a process officially referred to as “
transition”. In my experience as a mental health research nurse, this has created anxiety, confusion and uncertainty, exacerbated by the nuanced way in which the NHS communicates information to its workforce.
Communication between medical professionals and patients is well-documented, but little attention is given to the corporate language used within NHS organisations; language that often appears to conceal the true meaning of what is being said. “Transition” is a case in point; a word suggestive of an evolving, organic process or a natural progression from one state to another. In reality, transition in this context meant re-structuring the entire research delivery network across England and Wales. In terms of mental health research, what emerged at the other end of this re-structure (let’s call it what it was) appears to be a costly muddle, held together by the goodwill and dedication of excellent research staff.
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