Infirmary ‘Players’: Tragedy or Farce?

Reporter: John Hardcastle
Date online: 10 February 2011

“Farce is tragedy played at a thousand revolutions per minute.”
John Mortimer

Congratulations to the Rochdale Infirmary Players who have just produced their 30th Panto; Dick Whittington.

• Infirmary players take to the stage for 30th annual panto

How these demoralised staff continue to give up their own time to raise money for our beleaguered health services is astounding and worthy of the very highest praise.
Of course, Dick Whittington is not the only farce being played out at the Infirmary. A quick look at Rochdale Online’s news pages will serve to satisfy the enquirer as to a general idea of the shambolic and occasionally comedic manner in which our once-proud health services are being managed.

One story in particular stands out:

• Trust apologises for redundancy blunder

So was the manager actually giving out information that was already being circulated in the Pennine corridors of power when he told staff about the redundancy plans?

Altogether now, “Oh yes he was!”

Or had he in fact made the story up on order to wind the staff up?

Altogether now, “Oh no he wasn’t.”

No doubt the Trust will be embarrassed by the press reports and in Gilbert and Sullivanesque manner will dispatch their Lord High Executioner to ensure that a head or two will roll so that honour can be well and truly satisfied.

Earlier in the month of course the following story appeared on Rochdale Online assuring us that there would be no wholesale redundancies:- 

• Hospital jobs will be lost but not forced

It is the high cost of the redundancies rather than any paternalistic or moral sense of responsibility to staff that prevents the Trust from offering them. The staff are reported to be so disillusioned and demoralised that were redundancies to be offered, many would be trampled underfoot in the ensuing stampede!

It seems less than an ideal platform from which to deliver high-quality healthcare. The staff, like the Infirmary Players, are to be admired for continuing to deliver their lines, - sorry, I mean ‘services’ under such testing conditions.

Like the panto, the Trust seems hell-bent on delivering its hilarious performances with the aid of smoke, mirrors and characters entering and exiting through trapdoors to a mixed reception of laughter, boos and hisses. The only thing missing appears to be genuine applause although here in Rochdale there appears to be very little to clap about.

That is the real tragedy.