End Game is something of an NHS England board meeting groupie, and thoroughly enjoys travelling the length and breadth of the country so we can watch our heroes being all transparent and yet eerily in agreement about everything.
But apart from total consensus on issues of policy, there is another constant at these meetings, wherever they take place: Sir David Nicholson always drinks from a Nottingham Forest mug.
We wondered whether that meant he had a different mug waiting at every potential board meeting venue, or if he takes one with him wherever he goes. Frankly both options seemed equally far fetched.
The truth, a well-informed source told us, was that Sir David has two Forest mugs: one for his Quarry House office in Leeds, and another to take on tour.
Presumably Sir David deems the risk of arriving at a regional office where they have nothing but Notts County crockery as being too great.
Anyway End Game has checked the NHS constitution and can confirm that it is not mandatory that the chief executive uses a Nottingham Forest mug, raising the exciting possibility of Sir David’s successor drinking from a different vessel.
And that raises the possibility that the touring mug will retire with Sir David.
While we don’t want to come across like a greedy relative eyeing up the valuables when granny gets sick, End Game can assure Sir David that, when the time comes for him to leave the accountability circus, we would be really, really happy to give the touring mug a loving home.
We’re not kidding – can End Game have it, please?
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