Safety before Convenience

What we need from healthcare is complex and many of our requirements conflict. We surely want healthcare to be safe and we also would I am sure prefer it to be reasonably convenient. But if the two conflict? It is becoming clearer that complex interventions are more safely provided in centres with a significant throughput where the experience of the teams builds up and adds to the overall quality of the work. This move to fewer centres conflicts with the convenience enjoyed by many populations who had smaller centres in their midst. Because healthcare in an open public system has every decision scrutinised by the public this demand for local provision acts as a brake on improving safety. We need as individuals to be better informed of the issues to help us support rational developments.