Just why don't they get it?

A busy fortnight of meetings, with three last week all about local matters, then three this week all with people from further afield. This blog entry will try to illustrate that all the hope seems to be 'out there' and not 'back here'.
In the interests of fairness, anonymity and not to mention self-preservation - all names and distinguishing features have been fictionalised...

LAST WEEK

Week 1: meeting 1 - senior manager, Craig O'Reilly...
GS      There's a great variety of good things going on out there
Co'R   We need just six types of complex needs service elements
GS      If only we could do mental health differently
Co'R   Tell that to the commissioners, not to me
GS      We have been cut to less than half the staff we had 3y ago
Co'R   And there's worse to come - we have to cut £4m

Week 1: meeting 2 - less senior manager, Barry Southmore and even less senior manager, Mikey Davidson...
GS      There are great opportunities here to do it better
BS       Do you know about the organisations' strategic plan?
GS       But this is about implementing government policy
MD      Don't threaten me
GS       So we need to shut services then
BS+MD No comment

Week 1: meeting 3 - local manager, Maria Freeman and GP commissioner, Raheed Gursha
GS       There are great opportunities here to do it better
RG       But we do need to treat people with proper illnesses
GS       There are excellent things going on elsewhere in the country
MF      Let's include some of these ideas in our shortlist of how to improve local services
RG       OK, maybe
GS       Good - but we will have to start about doing things very differently
MF+RG There's a lot more meetings before we can decide

THIS WEEK

Week 2: meeting 1 - national campaign coordinator, Smita Chatterji
GS       What do you think of our idea for expanding greencare access for severely affected MH populations?
SC       It's just what should be happening, what's the problem?
GS       We've been stopped from doing it by the NHS managers.
SC       Find a friendly local councillor - they should love it. Failing that, an MP. It is what the CCGs should be commissioning nowadays.

Week 2: meeting 2 - national commissioner, Dick Wenniford
DW      Why don't you give up trying with that lot? You have been banging your head against a brick wall for many years now.
GS        Because I believe in it, live here, and am very loyal to my own area - and once they realise, it will actually save them money and give a better service
DW      You may kill yourself in the effort.
GS        But there's a chance it may just get better - we're having a new chief executive soon
DW      Can we help from the centre?
GS        Probably not.

Week 2: meeting 3 - international conference with famous keynote speaker (KN) and subsequent tea party with Sicilian colleagues (SC)
KN       Yes we agree about most things, and there's not much hope that the Government has 'got it', in the way we need things to be - like epistemics
GS        Just why don't they get it?
KN       Good question...
SC        Are you residential?
GS        No - the community is in the head - not the buildings or the leader or the staff.
SC        That is so obvious and so cheap. Why are there not many more of them?
GS        Hard to say. Just why don't they get it?