The U.K. NHS - a safety net that’s slowly collapsing
What happens when you really need help? It’s a frightening prospect.
I’m fortunate to be part of a large family that includes 13 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.
A couple of days ago we visited with the latest addition, Amelia, who was born on 6th August. She’s a content wee girl who instantly reminded me of her mum, my eldest daughter. But on a recent midwife’s visit, Amelia had to be admitted to the local paediatric ward on an hour’s notice. She’s doing well now.
Last evening I heard that Albie, my son’s first who at 17 months old was admitted to hospital. The last I heard he’s making progress but he’s been plagued with illness almost from the get go.
My son made two trips to the emergency room before Albie was seen and even as I’m writing this, he hasn’t been seen by a paediatrician.
My son ended up at the hospital for 12 hours before his wife could relieve him. Four of those long hours were spent waiting to see someone in the emergency room.
That might seem a long time but it is the current target for the length of time a person should wait in these situations. It’s a target that is routinely broken across the whole of the U.K.’s NHS. On that measure, Albie is fortunate.
Earlier in the week I spoke with an exhausted nurse who told me she pays tax at 40% but that only occurs because she has to work considerable amounts of overtime and unsocial hours for which the pay increments are 30-60% above basic pay. She’s been sick with COVID and told me that her staff are under unreasonable and sustained pressure. She also said that she believes that British nurses will collectively turn down the recent offer of a 3% pay rise.
It turns out that even though nurses’ pay and conditions are regarded as generous by U.K. pay standards, they’ve been declining in real terms the last 10 or more years.
I read that 5,000 EU citizens quit U.K. nursing positions following Brexit and that there is an overall shortfall of some 40,000 nursing staff needed to cope with current demand.
As I reflected on this and other gruesome facts about our NHS, I remembered that several routine preventative tests I am supposed to have had the last 19 months haven’t happened and there is no sign of follow up. Having said that, my regular six weekly attendance for eye injections recently got back on track but only because my consultant insisted since I was going progressively blind in one eye without the needed treatment.
The U.K. NHS is something of a sacred cow where treatment is free at the point of admission to which every working person and employer contributes, subject to certain de minimus earnings levels. But years of austerity, underfunding and now the twin curve balls of COVID and Brexit are bringing our much loved healthcare system close to collapse.
There is talk of a slow but relentless drive to effectively privatise the system. Recently I heard of someone who needed to see a podiatrist and ended up spending their own money for a private consultation because they couldn’t get to see anyone in our local area’s NHS.
There is no doubt in my mind that for most things, once you gain access, the U.K. NHS is among the finest in the world. I am confident that my grandson is getting the best possible care. That brings a level of relief because there are fewer things in life worse than a sick infant who needs the hospital.
The fact that we all pay for the NHS through our taxes provides a collective sense of community and a much needed safety net for those who are less fortunate in our society. I wonder how long that will remain the case. If the NHS can’t get the staff at a time when demand is only set to increase, then something has to break. But it gets worse.
I also read that following Brexit, there are concerns about the viability of the U.K. medical supply chain which is heavily reliant upon EU sourced medicines. COVID didn’t help with disruption at Indian and Chinese sourced medicine elements which lead to an evaporation of stockpiled medical supplies post Brexit.
The NHS’ ability to attract EU staff has diminished and its ability to attract world class research candidates is also in doubt as I’d funding for research.
As a person who doesn’t take much notice of a service which I (thankfully) only occasionally need, I wasn’t aware of these many problems. Until now.
I’m fortunate that I don’t get sick very often. I rarely get colds and have never had full-blown influenza. I’m not especially accident prone having only needed the emergency room twice in over 50 years and on both occasions I was injured through my own stupidity. So far, COVID has passed me by and I’m told that as someone who has been double jabbed, the chances are small that I will require a hospital bed in the inevitable event of contracting the virus.
As I enter into old age, there will come a time when I urgently need the NHS to be there for me. I don’t and can’t know when that will be. I can only hope that I’m not left waiting like my grandson and his deeply worried parents.
But right now the state of the NHS feels like an example of where England is failing.
The good news is that COVID has heightened the public awareness of the staffing needs. Those seeking education for the medical profession are up sharply from previous years. Let’s hope that trend continues in successive years.
For myself, I’d gladly pay more taxes if I knew those collections were being funnelled directly to our healthcare system. But sadly, my trust in government to deliver is at an all time low.