Nice Castle,
What you describe is how I have seen things develop post-HC as well; those that should be concentrating their time on matters of Standards, Training and Supervision are battered with the maelstrom of questions and comfort-blanket answers required by those in the DDH chain that very little actual supervision happens.
Any chance of moving forwards in capability is wrapped up by the mass of staff work required to alter Safety Cases and the like to bring forward absolutely clear-cut advances that would improve safety & op effectiveness - the process has become a negative link in the safety chain due to the inertia of the whole thing.