Homer Simpson: Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!
Last week, Sir Derek Wanless delivered his second review in the past five years on the UK National Health Service's efforts at modernization. According to the London Times, Wanless found that even after spending an additional £43 billion:
The money poured into the NHS has failed to produce a more efficient service, or to reduce unhealthy lifestyles.
As a result, more money will be needed.
The Guardian newspaper reported that Sir Derek's report included, " a warning that slow progress on introducing new IT systems could seriously undermine the productivity gains envisaged in 2002." He recommend that, ".. the £12bn programme run by the NHS agency Connecting for Health should undergo detailed external scrutiny to ensure the benefits will outweigh the costs."
The NHS once again quickly rejected this recommendation, stating that, "The Programme is no stranger to independent scrutiny. From day one it has been subject to the Office of Government Commerce (OGC)'s Gateway process, and more recently the subject of NAO and PAC reports, and the report of a review by the Health Select Committee is imminent.
"We do not consider there are grounds for another independent review of the National Programme at this time. The costs of the Programme remain under control and, although there have been delays to the delivery of some items, much has either been delivered early or remains on target."
In other words, the rosy-colored reviews already conducted have given us the answers we want. If we allow an independent review, why, unfavorable facts may emerge, and as Homer says, with facts, you can prove too many things that are true.
