Friday, September 28, 2007

It's not just Royal North Shore Hospital

  • Pressure on staff
  • Not enough hands on deck
  • Dedicated workers giving 200% overworked, overtired
  • Work is much more intense
  • Technological complexity
  • No time for training
  • Administrative overload
  • Lack of specialised staff
  • Political footballs
  • No time for listening, reflection,
  • Lack of money
  • Demoralised staff
  • No time to do the job properly
DH is typing this list while listening to Fran Kelly on the ABC discussing the background to the tragic miscarriage at RNSH

It's not just RNSH.
As a temp, DH has worked recently at several State Govt departments, a politicians office, several peak NGO's, and a University department.
These problems are endemic to all.

It is a miracle that the vital provision of the states' services and infrastructure of the state get done at all, and its only because the majority of workers give 200%, often even dipping into their own pockets, their own time, to hold it all together.

DH wonders if our state institutions are suffering from a rapidly progressing internal haemmorhagic fever, and one day we'll wake up and find that our institutions have collapsed around us.

DH reckons one culprit is technological change that is happening faster than our institutions can cope with, or absorb. While we are paying heavily for all this expensive technology, it's actually slowing us down.

But no time to develop a major thesis. Heigh, ho, heigh ho, late for work again, while pontificating... DH will have an exciting day today. She has been encouraged by the staff to challenge the management to make major changes with herself leading the charge.

Guess why?

Because DH has secure housing, she need not fear losing her job, and can speak her mind, and do what's right.

And this leads us to this interesting political point.

The best way to control a population is to keep them in fear of homelessness.

If Shelter was a right, if everyone had Land Rights, or at least Pied-a-Terre Rights, imagine ...
Thesis to be continued...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Yes, fear of homelessness is right up there with workforce casualisation as a form of control-by-terror.

The next installment is awaited with interest.