INSANITY AND THE GRAVY TRAIN
In the late 1830’s the
Tsarevich, Alexander was due to visit the province of Vyatka Vyatka to be examined by the doctors…The mayor did as he
was bid; the merchant was placed in the hospital at Vyatka .’[1]
‘The head of the health
watchdog, Dame Jo Williams, cast doubt about the mental stability of a
high-profile whistleblower who she wanted the Health Secretary to remove from
the board, The Independent can reveal.
Kay Sheldon, a
non-executive director of the Care Quality Commission (CQC), was subject to
‘priority monitoring' and declared a ‘risk’ to the regulator after she had
raised concerns that public safety was being compromised by poor leadership and
performance.’[2]
 |
| Dame Jo Williams |
I worked in the NHS as a manager
for a couple of years and as a Dual Diagnosis specialist for a couple more. I
have been employed by local government within the probation service and worked
for a number of voluntary sector organisations. In all these roles I worked as
part of what is called the social care sector. Wherever I worked I heard, for
it was never far away, the rattle and rock and roll of the gravy train.
Whilst working in the NHS
the great El
Dorado
The 1990’s saw the
emergence, in the addiction treatment field, of a new Quango, The National
Treatment Agency, [NTA]. The scramble to get well paid jobs provided by this
emerging organisation and thus join the burgeoning Quangocracy was a phenomenon
to behold. In practice all the usual suspects, in the small world of substance
misuse, were successful[3]
and settled quickly into the new jargon and new priorities set by new Labour,
rather in the way you can slip comfortably into a new pair of pyjamas. Selling
this new formula to a weary treatment world paid for many a vacation in exotic
locations, indeed paid off a few mortgages. (Many, having mastered the new
language – in reality describing the same old problems in a different way- went
on to go freelance and become ‘consultants,’ offering freedom and big bucks).
How much treatment benefited is, to put it generously, questionable.
When I see the word
‘charity’ this now impresses me about as much as the word reverend, and fills
me with a similar amount of suspicion.[4]
This is not to say that many voluntary sector[5]
organisations do not do a great job, sometimes working with the most
challenging clients, or helping people or tackling issues neglected by the
state. I have worked for some excellent charities[6]
and can bear testimony to the professionalism and commitment to service users.
 |
| Irene Khan Amnesty International [See Footnote] |
However the rapid expansion
of the voluntary sector and increasing financial rewards for senior executives
has produced a gravy train culture spanning charities, housing associations and,
at the top of the pyramid, the extraordinarily lucrative Quangocracy, to which
so many in the voluntary sector aspire.[7] One possible by-product is that the majority of organisations are now run on rigid hierarchical lines; some are
little more than mini autocracies with senior managers a law unto themselves.
Now as it happens I can
think of at least half a dozen people who would have suppressed information had
it been threatening to the organisations for which I worked. They might even
have done it in the macho, ‘read my lips,’ style alleged in the CQC case;
though the more soft spoken power of The West Wing was then more in vogue.
It is interesting that the majority of people I am thinking about are women. This may be simply a consequence of the fact that women are much better represented at senior management level in social care, particularly in the voluntary sector; though it does rather call into question the line that the world would be a softer gentler place if run by women.[8]
It is interesting that the majority of people I am thinking about are women. This may be simply a consequence of the fact that women are much better represented at senior management level in social care, particularly in the voluntary sector; though it does rather call into question the line that the world would be a softer gentler place if run by women.[8]
The English language lacks
a solid definition of sanity; it offers up, ‘the state of being sane, of
sound mind.’ The definition of insanity is little better. In the brave new
world of the booming ‘Third Sector’ and Quangocracy a definition could possibly
be:-
‘To rock the boat, to
reveal truths about an organisation even when do so will harm the welfare, well
being and interests of that organisation as a whole; to expose malfeasance to
the outside world without expectation of financial gain.’
From the viewpoint of
those enjoying the considerable rewards of the Quangocracy such behaviour is nothing
other than insane.
[1] Alexander Herzen, My Past
and Thoughts, University of California
Press
[2] http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/exclusive-nhs-watchdog-claimed-that-whistleblower-kay-sheldon-was-mentally-ill-8046640.html
I guess there’s nothing like a Dame, (sorry).
[3] Sitting on interview panels
they interviewed one another, old comrades from the voluntary sector clambered
on board this new manifestation of the gravy train.
[4] All manner of crimes and
misdemeanours, and charlatanism are committed by persons operating under the
cover of the word ‘Reverend.’ As to charities, charitable status covers private
schools like Eton and a range of dubious lobbying
groups. Not to mention the range of ‘charities’ which are in reality tax
avoidance scams.
[5] Re-branded the third
sector by New Labour; I once met an
acolyte of Hazel Blears at Luton airport who informed me,
with all due solemnity that his job was “building capacity in the third
sector.”
[6] However for the lay person
the word charity is somewhat misleading. Many voluntary organisations, i.e. ‘charities,’
working in the local community now receive 100% of their funding from the
state. In the past independence was traded for secure funding; now of course
many enjoy neither.
[7] The case of Amnesty
International represents a particular insight into this culture of reward; following
her resignation as Chief executive Irene Khan received a payment of £533.103, a sum four times in excess of her final salary, in itself an impressive £132,490. Kate Gilmore, her deputy, who resigned at the same time, recieved an ex-gratia payment of £320,000.
For a list of the most lucrative posts in the charity sector see:-
A separate issue is the possibility of gongs, the CBE,
OBE’s, Sir’s and Dames. These baubles, available now at senior level in social
care seem to hold some attraction.
[8] The most flagrant example of
bullying and intimidation I ever experienced was from a woman. However it is of
course true that we still live in a highly patriarchal society, it is men who
set the tone.
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