Houston, we have a problem

The reports over the last few days, of astronauts going into orbit more than a little the worst for wear, are initially funny. I mean, lines like "Houston we have a problem, the booze has run out" spring to mind. But it is actually deadly serious, and I am not overstating myself.

I read on the BBC website just now that NASA is pervaded by a culture which stifles dissent and prevents people from speaking out on safety concerns. It is possibly this very phenomenon that led to the destruction of the Space Shuttle Columbia over Texas in 2003, as concerns that debris could have caused critical damage to the shuttle's heatshields. It is also blamed for the suppression of important findings in 1986, when fuel leaks were discovered on the Space Shuttle Challenger, which blew up within a minute or two of take-off.

A sordid catalogue of mishaps is quoted in this article, but it beggars belief that such tactics are permitted to affect safety, in an industry where safety should be priority n° 1. However, there is a strange parallel in events here in the islands during 2005 and '06. The Health Board was affected by a similar culture which did not allow dissent, which led to serious financial problems. Dissent was shouted and bullied down. You cannot allow mistakes in healthcare either, but a culture of bullying and suppression of dissent could have contributed to mistakes being made.