When an organisation fails: lessons from Stafford and beyond

A selection of abstracts of clinically relevant papers from other journals. The abstracts on this page have been chosen and edited by John R. Radford.

Abstract

'If economists could manage to get themselves thought of as humble, competent people, on a level with dentists, that would be splendid!'

Main

Idle M, Speculand B. Fac Dent J 2012; 3: 134–138

Praise indeed from John Maynard Keynes. But could dentists and those in the wider health community learn from economists or financial institutions? In this paper, the authors identify parallels between 'failures of care at Mid Staffs and the collapse of Lehman Brothers bank in the US'. At Mid Staffs there were harrowing stories of patients who were not fed adequately and left in a dirty state, and from an oral perspective, poor mouth care. Lehman Brothers proffered subprime mortgages. Both organisations were driven by targets and failed in their duty of care to vulnerable people. The culture was that of arrogance with little accountability. The authors assert that the 'well-being of the people for whom they were (are) responsible' must be at the heart of all institutions.