Living Heroes.


The level of care the NHS achieves despite having Jeremy Hunt at the helm and such terrible funding is exceptional. They're vital, and yet the press and our Government abuse them; what’s more important to us than the heath of the people we care about?

My dad went into hospital yesterday with a condition that escalated rapidly while I was by his side in A&E and on the ward, and the kindness and efficiency of every doctor, nurse or staff member we came into contact with was something else. This is the fourth occasion I’ve been witness to a situation like this - though yesterday’s was the most extreme - and the story’s been the same each time; this extends to when I've been a patient too.

This consistency only reinforces what an exceptional service the National Health provides; for me, my dad's treatment was obviously of paramount importance, yet our hospitals see a never-ending stream of people in need, with friends and family to whom their loved ones are precious. That’s a hell of a responsibility, and yet too often, medical staff become scapegoats in the media when our overstretched underfunded services either strain at the seam, or whenever it's easier to complain than give credit where its due.

There was a point yesterday when a specialist briefly intimated how expensive a procedure would be, therefore needing authorization to be carried out; “But that’s just a formality”, he said. “Of course we’ll do it.”

One can only imagine what it would have been like in America, or anywhere else where a free health-service isn’t the norm; the thought of life or death decisions been made from the point of view of whether they’d be covered by insurance or affordable without it doesn’t bear thinking about.

People knock the NHS constantly, yet the people who work for them do the utmost to look after everyone in their care. They go beyond the call of duty. I've seen this firsthand on more than one occasion and couldn’t be more grateful for it.

As an aside, last night my phone auto-corrected "cancer" for "dancer"; I admire its optimism.

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