With the furore over Trump and the USA 'buying' the NHS - I got to experience the best of it once again recently. Two days after an emergency Doctor's appointment I was in hospital getting exploratory tests done. Biopsy results will be back in under three weeks. It is a nervous wait.
On the day, my surgical team treated 40 patients that day. During all the time I was there what impressed me most was the dignity, compassion, kindness, interest and good natured banter shared with the patients. Nurses who barely had time to get a tea break themselves but who managed to rustle up a tea, coffee or hot chocolate with custard creams for each of their patients that day. Nurses who between doing med obs, cleaning beds and equipment, moving patients on beds between treatment and recovery bays - had time to sit with those who were nervous, those who were in pain and those who just wanted to talk. A ward where banter and humour echoed off the walls despite the fact that they were overstretched and undermanned.
Where professionalism underpinned everything they did that day, from the welcome and paper work to explaining to each patient what was going to happen and why; patiently answering questions, carefully listening, acting on patient's wishes and finally ensuring that each patient understood the findings and implications of their examinations and what the next steps should be. It didn't matter your background, wealth or ethnicity - you all got treated the same - fairly, with dignity, kindness and respect and all for free.
Which brings me back to the USA possibly wanting a slice of the NHS in any future BREXIT trade negotiations.
May hell freeze over before that happens.
We should never, under any circumstances, expect to see a USA insurance based healthcare system here in the UK. None of the NHS services should be privatised if truth be known. If we want to fund the NHS, if we want it to grow, provide the most advanced medicine and treatemts and avoid the unfairness of a postcode lottery for treatment and drugs provision then we need to fund it. Maybe, we do need to add a penny or two to basic income tax to fund it - and yes, that may need means testing in some way so that it is fair to all earners; perhaps it should be a penny or two on national insurance for all - perhaps instead of empty promises, our prospective Prime Minster candidates should explain truthfully how they intend to protect, fund and improve the NHS so that such inequalities between postcodes do not exist.
Somethings are precious and worth fighting for - the NHS is one of those things. For that matter, so is social care provision!
On the day, my surgical team treated 40 patients that day. During all the time I was there what impressed me most was the dignity, compassion, kindness, interest and good natured banter shared with the patients. Nurses who barely had time to get a tea break themselves but who managed to rustle up a tea, coffee or hot chocolate with custard creams for each of their patients that day. Nurses who between doing med obs, cleaning beds and equipment, moving patients on beds between treatment and recovery bays - had time to sit with those who were nervous, those who were in pain and those who just wanted to talk. A ward where banter and humour echoed off the walls despite the fact that they were overstretched and undermanned.
Where professionalism underpinned everything they did that day, from the welcome and paper work to explaining to each patient what was going to happen and why; patiently answering questions, carefully listening, acting on patient's wishes and finally ensuring that each patient understood the findings and implications of their examinations and what the next steps should be. It didn't matter your background, wealth or ethnicity - you all got treated the same - fairly, with dignity, kindness and respect and all for free.
Which brings me back to the USA possibly wanting a slice of the NHS in any future BREXIT trade negotiations.
May hell freeze over before that happens.
We should never, under any circumstances, expect to see a USA insurance based healthcare system here in the UK. None of the NHS services should be privatised if truth be known. If we want to fund the NHS, if we want it to grow, provide the most advanced medicine and treatemts and avoid the unfairness of a postcode lottery for treatment and drugs provision then we need to fund it. Maybe, we do need to add a penny or two to basic income tax to fund it - and yes, that may need means testing in some way so that it is fair to all earners; perhaps it should be a penny or two on national insurance for all - perhaps instead of empty promises, our prospective Prime Minster candidates should explain truthfully how they intend to protect, fund and improve the NHS so that such inequalities between postcodes do not exist.
Somethings are precious and worth fighting for - the NHS is one of those things. For that matter, so is social care provision!
8 comments:
Bloody amen, brother
I may be naive here but some things are worth fighting for and the NHS is something unique and distinctive across the whole world - like un-armed police officers patrolling our streets - as a matter of principle - some things are worth standing up for.
Pushing against an open door, Steve... the current Mrs Steve the Wargamer is a 30 year A&E veteran... :o))
Awesome respect to her - after a nasty concussion a few months back - i was truly amazed at how my local A and E managed - i was there for 15 hrs - no ward bed available - everyone was stacked in corridors, a central admissions area and all bays around A/E. despite being short staffed and rushed off their feet - there was nothing but humour, kindness, compassion and outstanding care - my wife who stayed with me throughout was looked after, offered tea and nurses on breaks even bought her sandwiches back with them. Given I was barely concious, needed CT scans and suffered huge bouts of nausea, sickness and dizziness - they were amazing. A few came to admire the severe groove in the top of my skull and seemed suitably impressed with the cut and canyon in the top of the skull - not that i remember much to be truthful
Hi. Firstly - I hope you are ok and the results good.
The NHS isn’t underfunded due to lack of money but because the current Con govt have decided to underfund it. There is no need for an increase in income tax or NI (or any of the myriad of other taxes we pay) as by paying nurses and doctors more then we will have more nurses and doctors and less need for expensive bank or locum staff. By increasing the number of beds and services provided by the real nhs people are treated more quickly and return to work more quickly, lessen the call on state funds for welfare and, most importantly, can return to productive, supportive family life.
The fundamentals of the economy are not understood by many. My understanding isn’t perfect but this is roughly how it works :-
Government print money (all government spending is new money) via the bank of England to spend in the economy on services for us. Every penny paid to NHS staff gets spent in the local economy producing business profits, jobs, incomes for others and tax take. Money spent on the NHS infrastructure and the millions of items used everyday does exactly the same. Government spending doesn’t just vanish when it’s spent it actually becomes the source of money in the economy. Tax is money taken out of the economy to stop the risk of high inflation. Tax is effectively shredded after it is counted and added to the ‘returns’ section of the government spreadsheet. The wealthiest should pay the highest amount of tax as they benefit the most from the money printed by government. (they don’t in % terms right now as the poorest actually spend the highest proportion of their income in tax than the richest). By increasing tax for us all then effectively we all have less money to spend in the economy.
This is the great con of austerity- by cutting government spending on real services (like the NHS, Police, mental health support, money to local councils and welfare) the Cons cut the the money into the economy that keeps us all employed as well as safe, fit and healthy. It’s utterly stupid and the exact opposite of what they should have done after the huge global crash.The main aim of all Con governments is to transfer as much government (our) money into private hands as they possibly can - they are very efficient at doing this so that even with huge cuts to real services they have still borrowed (printed) more money in 10 years than all Labour governments added together.
This is the great risk for us all from USA involvement in the NHS and elsewhere not the introduction of a health insurance based health service. They will still say ‘free at the point of use’ but the services that are ‘free’ will continue to be reduced ( a local friend was forced to spend £20 on a dressings pack for a minor operation in a privately run NHS facility) and more of the money spent on services will go overseas away from our economy.
The only way to keep a real NHS is by voting Labour.
I rely totally on the NHS and would be dead without it after a few really serious infections and PEs and have seen first hand what private hospitals do with our money - one basic service for all whatever other health issues you have. Just shut up and go away as we need the bed so we can make more money was the attitude...imagine what a USA based company will charge us tax payers for their inadequate services?
I and many others with long term inherited conditions get a rubbish or no service from our NHS anymore and badly need a better NHS not one cut up and thrown away for profit by the bunch of rich Cons that the dim keep voting for.
All the best - keep us informed if you can.
Graham A
wow - I'll need a week or two to digest all this and see whether I agree with it all :)
But it makes an interesting read and a perspective I hadn't fully considered
some of it I agree with - some I need to think about because I'm not convinced.
HeheSorry -middle or a painful night splurge...The whole subject winds me up no end; it’s no coincidence that there has never been a clear explanation of how the economy works from government or the BBC. They pretend tax pays for everything so they can convince us oiks that WE can’t afford to pay for the things that THEY don’t want to pay for...
I have a disabled friend in her 30s who is regularly put to bed at 5pm because her care package doesn’t pay for anyone after that and many many FB group members with the same health condition as me but who are affected much more either paying for inadequate private health investigations that the NHS ignore the results of or just don’t get any NHS help at all and battle repeatedly to get and keep ESA and PIP payments they are clearly entitled to. The whole system has gone down the pan for no other reason than the Cons hate of the public sector and disdain for anyone needing help.
The actual NHS staff are nearly always helpful and try their best but the system is being destroyed before our eyes and very few seem to even notice.
I hope you are ok.
Sorry again!
Graham A
you dont need to apologise about anything - we need more people standing up and being counted :)
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