The Trap: What Happened to Our Dream of Freedom2007

Narrator:
The original idea behind the mathematical system was that it would liberate public servants from old forms of bureaucratic control. Once they were given the targets, they were free to achieve them any way they wanted. But almost immediately, New Labour began to discover that people were more complex and devious than the simple model allowed. Public servants began to find the most ingenious ways of hitting their targets.

James Strachan:
It's the fact that the pressure to meet these targets is causing some NHS managers to game the system.

Narrator:
Hospital managers proved to be particularly devious. When they were set targets to cut waiting lists, they ordered consultants to do the easiest operations first. Like bunions and vasectomies. Complicated ones like cancers were no longer prioritised.