NHS waiting times officially up on 1997 (PF 7/3/08)

Median waiting times have increased even though average waiting times have fallen, due to focus on the patients who had been waiting the longest. Example of misleading performance info. The 18 week target should bring median down in future.

Schools face struggle to meet new PSA targets (PF 12/10/07)

Targets to raise standards and to close the attainment gap could work against each other as the former helps the brightest pupils improve, at the expense of struggling pupils.

Labour Party conference news – Brown softens tone but ‘business as usual’ on reform (PF 28/9/07)

New Economics Foundation says that the Gershon agenda is damaging other Government communities policies – example of contradictory targets.

Measure for Measure: Using outcome measures to raise standards in the NHS (Policy Exchange, 19/7/07)

Critical of NHS measures: e.g. outcome measures focus on mortality and readmission rates, excluding 90% of admissions. Necessary information for improvement is not available and information doesn’t equal improvement. Giving trusts overall ratings doesn’t help.

Incentives lead to gaming and falsification, publishing leads to behaviour change.

Split for purpose – or chasing the targets and missing the point? (Public Service 1/6/07)

Police services are issuing more notices and making more arrests for minor incidents to improve their statistics.

Targets: doing less of the wrong thing is not doing the right thing (Public Service, 15/2/07)

Examples of dysfunction:

- GP appointment bookings. Patients required to book appointments within 48 hours, rather than at a convenient time.

- Local government. Targets to get things done in 8 weeks don’t say anything about the end to end time for the customer, but encourage the provider to focus on ’stopping the clock’ by sending the customer to do something. Causes waste.