Monday, 29 August 2022
On Its Knees - Again
‘A horrible winter lies ahead’: next PM will inherit an NHS on its knees
In a television studio in Stoke-on-Trent last month, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak traded blows over everything from credit card economics to Channel migrants to the accessories chain Claire’s. The list of issues the pair clashed over was dizzyingly long.
There was one glaring omission, however. In the hour-long debate there was not a single mention of the NHS – despite being engulfed in its biggest ever crisis. The NHS now shares the same traits as many of those relying upon it to keep them alive and well: it is elderly, has multiple comorbidities, and is in dire need of emergency care. Summer has left it on its knees. Worse is expected this winter.
The NHS never adopts any other posture, it is always on its knees, especially in Guardian land. The NHS is too old and needs replacing with a model borrowed from a better health service elsewhere. A new public teat to suck on won't haul it up off its knees because it thinks that is where it belongs.
Has anyone ever heard of the NHS on its feet, nipping around cheerfully doing its job while keeping our spirits up with an endless stream of medical optimism? I haven't.
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13 comments:
My hope is that a combination of self inflicted wounds (covid lockdowns and covid vaccines creating massive extra demand for healthcare) and economic necessity (inflation (which in itself is partly self inflicted, all the money printed to pay for covid lockdowns primed the inflation pump and Uncle Vlad has just put the cherry on top) and the coming economic downturn, maybe even depression, caused by Uncle Vlad's energy price shock) will create a perfect storm that forces the government of the day (whoever that may be) to slay the NHS sacred cow, and start introducing charging for services. Once the principle of people contributing directly towards their healthcare gets introduced, it will never be removed, because no government will ever have the funds to replace the private funding, we see it with dentistry and eyecare. We just need to hope things get so bad that destroying the 'free at the point of need' shibboleth for general medical care is considered the only way forward.
Surely the NHS should have saved up heaps of money in the era when their staff were making videos of dancing in the wards and corridors because they had eff all else to do during the lockdowns. All that overtime not paid for, all those medicines and so on not used! Even the laundry bills must have been slashed. Where's the money gone?
The public reluctance to criticise the NHS is very deep. I think it stems from some sort of magical thinking, that fate is listening, or bad karma will get you, and your self-righteous rant today will somehow lead to your own care being compromised in the future. That long wait for the toilet or the clumsy Filipina nurse shoving a tube up the wrong orifice? That's because you didn't maintain your faith and clap in the street all those years ago.
The most telling issue for me was the contrast between GPs cowering in their offices during lockdown, and the military efficiency of patient throughput when they were given £12.58 per person jabbed. They are of course no more self-centred and nasty than any other group, but let's drop the national pretence.
"The most telling issue for me was the contrast between GPs cowering in their offices during lockdown, and the military efficiency of patient throughput when they were given £12.58 per person jabbed. They are of course no more self-centred and nasty than any other group, but let's drop the national pretence."
The biggest contrast for me was GPs and their staff cowering in their surgery bunkers, while minimum wage staff in supermarkets stacked shelves, manned tills and delivered shopping orders, exposing themselves to far more harm (such that there was) than their far better paid medical counterparts.
And I've always despised the 'NHS angels' tag, the NHS has as many lazy, slovenly, bitter, twisted and incompetent employees as any organisation going. If anything probably more, as anyone with any moral integrity would probably be ground down pretty sharpish by the bad apples, and either drop to their level, or leave. A sort of 'bad money drives out good' situation, except for employees. So to hold them up as some sort of modern day saints sticks in my craw just a bit.............
I used to wonder where all the money/work on those cardboard cutout hospitals came from?
The big 'Nightingale' in Excel, East London was fitted out at eye-watering expense, and never used! I bet the rent was paid on time though!
Sobers - something which seems to have changed with the NHS is the idea that significant progress can be achieved by endless discussions, propaganda and fiddling around the edges. Hitting the brick wall of reality seems to be the only way it will ever be reformed towards
a system which forces it to be more responsive and forces patients to be far less casual about using the service.
dearieme - performance bonus payments for really tidy wards?
Sam - yes, many attitudes do seem to stem from some sort of magical thinking, as if fate is listening and might do something terrible if it doesn't see some real subservience.
Our GP service seems to have moved on from hiding in the bunker to falling apart because they can't attract doctors. Something drastic seems to be building up.
Sobers - that was the biggest contrast for me, GPs and their staff cowering in their surgery bunkers, supermarket staff just got on with the job. It could hardly be made more obvious - "some are more equal than others".
Scrobs - yes, we didn't hear much about that idea did we?
"And your self-righteous rant today will somehow lead to your own care being compromised in the future"
I'm of the opinion that it's pointless trying to get hold of the doctor unless I'm already dead - they'll only fob me off with excuses otherwise...
Bin-persons, delivery people, mechanics, plumbers, electricians, and all the rest, who really keep society functioning were not working from home either.
If ever there was a chance to establish who would not be missed, even if they went on strike, this was it.
" it's pointless trying to get hold of the doctor unless I'm already dead"
Not even then, according to a story in the paper yesterday, about a woman whose husband died at home and the doctor wouldn't attend to certify death - "we don't come out any more" - and made her hold up her mobile phone to video the corpse instead.
So caring, so sympathetic - in fact, the envy of the world.
microdave - maybe they need a phone option such as "If you are dead press 5"
Doonhamer - yes, there was so little mainstream discussion of this point that it must be seen as too embarrassing to bring into the open.
Anon - blimey, someone should be sacked or struck off for that.
Re Anons comment above on NHS staff behaving as they think acceptable, more details here:
https://dailysceptic.org/2022/08/28/widow-forced-to-verify-husbands-death-on-zoom-because-gp-said-they-dont-come-out-anymore/
Nessimmersion - thanks for the link. I hope there are some unpleasant consequences for the doctor concerned.
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