Aye, some managers are crap, some are good and some are great. Unfortunately, as in the 'real world', crap managers rarely get the sack, and instead get promoted up the ranks. But I think that at the end of the day, the crapness of certain managers is only because the government is putting silly pressures on the ambulance services. I mean, when the government decided that GPs didn't have to provide out-of-hours medical cover, did we get any more ambulances/staff to help cover the nights? Did the hospitals get any more night doctors? Nope. It's ll buggered until someone with a bit of common sense starts putting bamboo splinters up the nails of messers Blair and Brown. Yes, I am volunteering