So there are some workers in the NHS who like targets: Managers. A survey has shown that the majority of Managers asked thought targets should remain in place, with some leaving comments on how they 'stimulated productivity' and how removing them would mean staff would 'do what is easiest'.
Funny that - the very people brought in to implement targets don't want them to disappear. The introduction of targets has meant that management numbers have increased by 84 per cent over the last ten years, concomitant with a 27 per cent increase in nurses. Of course, targets don't just breed higher numbers of Managers - what we also see is more taxpayer-funded bodies to regulate the NHS and clinical staff forced off the wards and into the office. In short, an explosion in bureaucracy.