Happy Birthday NHS
It’s a common story isn’t it – a difficult birth; followed by a troubled adolescence; forced into repeated changes of direction as an adult; always short of money; and always feeling like you can’t do right for doing wrong.
As we mark its 70th birthday, that’s one view of the NHS, but not mine.
Despite its many challenges, I, like the vast majority of others in the UK, believe in the NHS and give thanks for its very existence. I grew up protected by it, and saw it care for my family, as it has done for millions of other families over the last 70 years. I also gave 20 years of my life to working within the NHS, which I did with pride and with a clear belief in its core principle.
The genius of the NHS was that access to healthcare would no longer be dependent on the ability to pay for it. With a doctor’s visit at the time costing the equivalent of several days wages for some, families no longer had to take the risk of trying to get better without care; or paying for care but facing destitution. As one of Beveridge’s 5 “Giants”, tackling disease would become a pooled responsibility, paid for out of taxation, free at the point of use.
Looking out for all our people, sharing the risk, remains a key principle of the NHS today; and for me it’s a sign of a civilized society. The challenges facing the NHS have continued to change over time – when it started, communicable disease was a key concern; now, as more of us live to the maximum age, dealing with the impact of long term health conditions is a major issue. We are also more aware of the broader determinants of health across society and of the continuing need to reduce health inequality.
The NHS has a role in all of this and needs to continue to adapt. But this does not mean that it has failed or that the basic model is somehow flawed. The real issue for me is despite its many reorganisations, we have never consistently funded the NHS at a level that would allow it to catch up with and then stay on top of the workload we expect it to carry. A lot of the irritants we sometimes feel in using the services – getting a GP appointment; being on a lengthy waiting list for a routine operation; getting a planned discharge from hospital for elderly relatives – are the consequence of the NHS trying to cope with continuing funding pressures. The latest promise of an additional £20bn for the NHS is welcome but is meaningless if we do not address this core funding issue.
As a London Assembly Member, I have chaired the Health Committee giving me insight into matters that impact on Londoner’s health. I have worked to defend the NHS in our capital and call for more resources, backing campaigns such as opposing the cuts to Whittington Hospital in my constituency and supporting motions on matters such as making London smoke-free, saving key London health services, and putting an end to Government plans for student loans to replace nursing bursaries.
I have either worked in the NHS or campaigned for it most of my life. As I approach my seventieth year I am conscious that I now may start making more demands on it as a patient in the years to come (although, as we know, seventy is the new fifty!). But I will remain a passionate advocate for its core principle; ensuring that when we are at our most vulnerable the last thing we have to think about is ‘Can I afford it?’
So, Happy Birthday NHS; and many, many, many happy returns.