Among the first-half drones at this conference was a duo talking about something called ‘connected care’. It turned out that someone in healthcare has found about about community audits (a technique widely used in community work for forty years or more): you train a few people to carry out and analyse a survey of their local community to find out what you already know, but the results have more credibility because they’ve found it out themselves by participating (ie doing what they’re told would be a good idea by the professionals – this is my new definition of participating in the NHS).

Someone on their film identified the main concern about people presented with another survey from the NHS, that they can’t be bothered to respond because they know nothing is going to happen as a result. This of course is why getting someone from the local community to do it is an ace, because it’s harder for people to say ‘no’ to an earnest neighbour, preferably young or old, so they’re harder to abuse.

Apparently, though, the latest management-speak for dealing with people who don’t believe you’re going to do anything is to tell respondents in advance that you cannot afford anything, and then they won’t be disappointed afterwards. This way of getting people more connected to the NHS was hailed as a new project development insight. I was always taught to see it as ‘not raising expectations’ – it’s been a standard social work technique for at least the forty years I’ve been using it; it’s always been vital in social work, because it’s really hard to get anything for anyone from a deprived community, so it’s best not to raise their hopes.

The survey apparently found out useful things: for example, local people would like more social activities, especially for older people. Unfortunately, the presentation did not go so far as to say anything that they’ve actually done as a result of their community audit; we were invited to accept that this ‘industry best practice case study’ is going to lead to wonderful things if we do the same, only they haven’t quite got there yet.

And probably won’t, if normal life and the economy is anything to go by.