Council spunks '£100k on how to wash your hands' vid

As someone who runs a video production company.....

I work with many councils as a video producer. I provide the full service including kit. Frankly it will work out cheaper to use decent local production companies rather than go it alone. Not only will the cost be spread out, but they won't have to worry about kit that depreciates at a terrifying rate or keeping up with the latest edit software.

Having seen other councils do stuff "in house" all it does is create a cushy job for someone and buy a load of top of the range or inappropriate kit in using taxpayers money. The results are rarely impressive either as there is no commercial imperative and they end up making videos that aren't needed or viewed just to keep themselves busy or to inflate the egos of management.

Granted I do have a vested interest here but I also know the economics of it. I couldn't imagine having started my company with 100 grand of startup capital. It's just mad.

There are plenty of blokes who could do with watching this video

When I go to the other office of the small business I work for, I am amazed - with horror - at the number of times the handwash is empty in the gents.

Trusted colleagues are doing poos, wiping their arses, then merely rinsing their hands from the cold tap. They should be bloody ashamed of themselves.

As an "outraged local" can I also mention that WSCC has much more form here than just spending money on useless videos, it has some of the highest paid executives (even though they are *very* reluctant to share exactly how much) in local government. As well as being quite shameless about acquiring the money from its ratepayers (for instance: recently forcing district councils to introduce car parking charges against the will of the DCs, the Chambers of Trade and polls of local ratepayers, axing bus subsidies at little notice, etc etc)

Don't tell me...

... these papers never pay for a good scoop full of self-righteous indignation rhetoric?

I figure they should "donate" a nice sum of their proceeds to the council as a thank-you. Should take care of the "problem" of spending taxpayer money reasonably well (compared to some other things, certainly) handily, I say.

No laughing matter

It is easy to scoff at a council producing a video about handwashing but I'm a Doctor and correct handwashing IS something that can be taught as most of us don't do it correctly. I would guess that the video is possibly aimed at employed careers who often deal with very frail elderly people who are very vunerable to infection. Correct hand washing is a massively effective infection control measure and even if the video cost £100,000 rather than the likely <£2000 then it would still be cost-effective as admissions due to preventable infections cost a lot more. I bet the Telegraph would be the first to bleat about someone dying because of poor infection control measures!

As ridicilous as it may sound...

...such videos may actually be helpful. This particular one improved my standard of living considerably: http://www.ted.com/talks/terry_moore_how_to_tie_your_shoes.html

perhaps...

They're hoping they will go viral as everybody logs into gootube to see what sort of stupidity the Telegraph is lambasting. Quids in, if they can get the eyeballs looking at the vids.

Possibly not something they originally thought of, though...

What's sad is...

...that Brits do actually need these videos. Most never wash their hands after using the lav*, and when they do they often fail to wash thoroughly enough.

*Now go wash your hands

The Telegraph is getting as bad as the Mail

Once upon a time it was the Daily Mail that you could rely on for spinning some mundane easily justifiable council action into faux outrage designed to provoke it's mittle England readers.

Every story is the same - a headline which is basically a lie or gross distortion of the facts, a first paragraph intended to embellish the lie, a second paragraph which lets an opponent of the council rant how its all so unfair or a waste of money, and two lines at the bottom explaining the perfectly reasonable story in context. I assume Daily Mail readers are so outraged they are too busy knawing their own hands to bother reading to the bottom of a story.

And now the Telegraph is doing it. I realise it is right wing in outlook but it is a broadsheet which is supposed to mean something in terms of the quality and accuracy of its reporting. It seems these days they are less interested in the quality and accuracy aspect and more in the trolling for hits to boost ad impressions aspect. This is especially notable whenever the subject concerns religion, or climate change or councils where the article is deliberately inflammatory.

I wonder if journalists in these places feel shame at what they're doing. I wonder how much money councils waste answering letters and phone calls, or by mothballing perfectly justifiable projects which targeted by these stupid stories.

Its a good idea

The principle is correct, in that thorough handwashing is a major contributor to public health. However, as has been mentioned already, only a national video is required and I am pretty sure that health authorities already have such a thing. The money should have been spent on promoting it and not on making it in the first place.

As with computers, so with washbasins.

Provide the right kit and people will be happy to use it

Provide a proper bar of soap rather than a squirty thing full of pink robot-snot and real towels (paper would do) rather than an ineffective hot air blower that is unbearable to be near in the summer ... and people just might use them.

Yup...

You'd be amazed how many people don't know how to perform basic tasks, teeth cleaning, hand washing, wiring a plug etc. etc.

A friend works in the NHS and told me that they bet I didn't know how to wash my hands properly, they were right, I told them that I bet they didn't know how to wire a plug (it's not just about matching the wires to the pins) I was right.

I've even had supposedly intelligent people tell me that you don't need to use soap when washing your hands because the chlorine in the water will do just as good a job.

Spunks? Really El Reg? Really?

Please, please, please stop using the verb "to spunk" in your headlines - it's really revolting and unnecessary. I'm hardly a delicate little flower, but this really annoys the hell out of me. It's even worse than.....mobe.