I don't know if people here are aware of this - haven't seen it getting media attention, but one of the most bullshit ideas ever is about to happen. And it is going to fuck up people's lives.
This is payment by results.
www.dh.gov.uk/health/category/policy-are.../payment-by-results/
Which affects a lot of services.
In a nutshell it means services tat care for you have to care about their targets - not you - or they don't get paid. Essentially, you as the service user become a product that must conform to what the services targets say -or you can fuck off.
You are an automaton devoid of free will. You do not make your own decisions. It is not recognised that your choices are utimately your own.
So say for example you have a drug problem. You're spending lots of money, you feel dependent, you're missing days at work. It's getting on top of you and you want help. So you go and see a drug service. Rather than think
what does this person need?, that service will have a set of targets. You must come in and go out in a set amount of time and achieve set targeted improvements. The service
has to prioritise this, not you, or else they face financial collapse. So right from the outset, it's about what they need, not what you need. You are simply a product on an assembly line.
This is very much like those benefits targets that get people sanctioned, except it works differently.
So say you deal with your drug problem in the specified timeframe but two months later have a relapse. So you want to go back because you found it helpful before. Well that fucks up the services targets - you're not supposed to come back or else it's considered their fault you have. If too many people go back too quickly, they get penalised. This means services will be faced with a choice -
a/Lie about their statistics
b/Tell you to fuck off
Which is going to happen remains to be seen. Probably both.
Similarly, if you have a mental health problem that doesn't go exactly how some person in an office has decided it should, then that mental health service won't get paid. Basically what is happening now is that if you have mental health issues and go and seek help, however nice and caring that person you see is, they are going to be
forced to regard a set of targets as more important than what you as an individual actually need. And that is going to determine the service you get.
You are no longer a person. You are a target to be met. And if your needs contradict the target...tough shit because the targets are what matters.
Targets have of course been around for a while now, but suddenly they are quite literally all that matter when it comes to your care from a range of health services.
