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.