To feel angry at celebrating the NHS

[TaylorSwifting]

The NHS is falling apart and today people are all full of glee at the NHS yippee 75 years today, it’s making me so angry!!!!!!!!!
My family member has been diagnosed with cancer, 2 months down the line and has had no treatment and terrible delays for tests…..still yet to see an oncologist. 2 months!!!!!!!!! Family member only has pain management because us family have begged and fought to get it. It is an utter disgrace and I had no idea how bad things were until this awful diagnosis in our own family.
We are not alone / it hasn’t been a mistake or being lost in the system by accident! Record high cancer patient delays - this is what so many people are facing. I am in utter disbelief!
I won’t be celebrating today.

Well my DH has has absolutely fantastic care and support throughout his cancer journey. Wouldn't have got better care if we'd gone privately. So many people are looking after him - we estimate his treatment and ongoing care must have cost at least £1m.

Agreed. The ridiculous NHS worship that started during the pandemic continues.

Plenty of the world would be grateful for the NHS.
I think it's a date worth celebrating!

Blame the government and the people who want everything on the cheap ( including social care )

Given the resources they have they still do remarkable well

We pay less than most counties we get a less good service it's simple really

But they do well with what they have got and it's something that has revolutionised health care

I feel like the NHS has badly let down my family on multiple occasions and that we cannot rely on it.

But by celebrating, we ARE celebrating the government and giving them a big pat on the back.

None of those things are the fault of the NHS though. Blame the government. Use the NHS’s birthday to write to tell your MP what an absolutely shit job this government have done at supporting the healthcare service and how that affects patient care.

And above all don’t ever vote Tory again. They do this to the NHS every time they get in. Without fail. It’s fixable but people have to want to fix it.

This

I think we can celebrate the fact that - against substantial political and professional opposition - the UK managed to introduce healthcare free at the point of delivery in 1948. I don't think it can be disputed that there are significant problems with the NHS at present, and these aren't simply a matter of the amount of money allocated to it.

Any celebrations should take into account that there are powerful groups opposed to the principle of universal healthcare who need to be fought against while recognising that the model for delivery of care needs to be rethought and desperately needs to include social care and preventative action rather than just remedial management of existing conditions.

We should be grateful for the NHS but also recognise it is currently failing people . There needs to be a root and branch ridding of waste and we the public need to have more personal responsibility not to abuse it eg not bothering to turn up for appointments, getting lathered on a Friday night and expecting ambulance and A & E for treatment.

FIL has just been diagnosed with stage 4 NHL and cancer in two other places. Within a month he's had numerous tests and scans and is about to embark on a six month course of aggressive chemo with a view to surgery at the end of it.
As a frail 83 year old.
I've worked in the NHS 33 years and some of it is shit, but multiply FIL case by hundreds of thousands and it could be argued it is a victim of its own 'success'.

I feel grateful to them. They found and treated my cancer during covid without any delay. Faultless service I received.

However that's not to say I don't think things need to change within the NHS. Just my own personal experience

Completely agree with you.

I think one of the biggest issues is inequality of care , I’ve had excellent quick treatment in the NE and the care for my dying dad last year was faultless , unfortunately in many areas the standards are not as high

I won't be celebrating mismanagement of funds by NHS chiefs. I also don't feel so strongly about it, that it makes me angry.

People reach a certain age and then they die. We need to get used to that fact that the doctors do not have a wand and they are not God. They cannot save everyone.
The NHS is entirely fit for the purpose of which it was set up for, the issue is people wanting all the added extras, if you want those get off your arse, go to work and pay for them.

I’m in a shitty mood, but I am particularly fed up of providing healthcare to people without giving back to society in one way or another. But we seem to be paying an extraordinary amount of money to people who literally just exist.

It's absolutely worth celebrating. Americans for one would agree.

Personally they saved my child's life, looked after her for 3 months in Neonatal and open heart surgery.

Yes they make mistakes but to have them there without a bill to pay at the end is a marvellous thing. These nurses and doctors should be admired and appreciated.

Yeah I don’t think it should be celebrated. I’ve had to get private help for my 1 year old because the wait is so long for treatment, for basic things like helping him walk.

The treatment I also had during the pandemic when I gave birth left me with PTSD. Yes it’s a lot of the fault of the government, but the NHS has a lot of shitty staff too.

Be angry at the government for a decade of deliberate underfunding and vote them out at the next GE. Sure, there are things that need to change, but most of this is on the Tories.

Agree OP. It's not fit for purpose and has been failed consistently for years but we are still expected to worship the NHS and never criticise it.

Some services in some areas are great, but the failing ones aren't excused because of it. My DGM was failed and fobbed off for so long a very treatable cancer was left to spread and instead of a simple treatment she is now in pain and dying. Now we're at this point the palliative care team have been wonderful, so kind and professional. But they shouldn't be needed and the teams who failed her at the start aren't excused because the end of life care team are doing their job well.
And this isn't an exceptional case, it's happening too often.

I understand what a revolution the NHS was when it was introduced, how many lives have been saved or improved and that is recognised, but we also need to be realistic and fighting for the change that is needed.

I really hope your family member will be ok, OP. That's shocking

Totally agree. Am having to pay for a hysterectomy privately as I'd be waiting another 18 months on the NHS, by which time I'd have to give up my job due to my symptoms, not to mention more episodes ending up in Resus. I suppose I should be grateful for Resus, but wouldn't have got to that point were the gynae services not so utterly woeful.

In terms of the way ahead the Nuffield Trust, Kings Fund and Health Foundation have written to the Government. It's worth a read.

Letter here

www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-07/NHS75%20three%20think%20tanks%20letter%205%20July%20final%20proofed%5B34%5D.pdf

They highlights four key areas where long-term policies coupled with considered investment would help chart a path back to a stronger health service:
• Invest in the physical resources the NHS needs to do its job including equipment, beds, buildings and new technology.
• Deliver long overdue reform of adult social care
• Commit to a cross-government strategy over the course of the next parliament to improve the underlying social and economic conditions that shape the health of the nation
• Build on the recently published NHS long term workforce plan with sustained commitment to providing the resources it needs to succeed.

I'm with you OP. It's down to government under investment. Staff are working in appalling conditions. Imagine the emotional pain of having the skills to help someone with something so fundamental as cancer care and knowing the wait list will only cause further damage, that they then have to deal with by the time the person finally gets to the head of the queue. The nhs spokesperson this morning irritated the hell out of me. Waving her cheery pom poms about and telling us that it will so get better 4 years from now. I've been hearing this shit for over 10 years.

The NHS is not fit for purpose and hasn't been for years. Yes, there are pockets of good care, but the fact that the British public put up with this system and seem to think it's wonderful astonishes me. France, Austria, Australia, Germany - all have far superior healthcare, no-one dies because they can't afford to pay, their funding models are better, their treatment is better and I wish wholeheartedly we could scrap the NHS and start over.

No-one wants the American model. The idea that the only two options are US-style healthcare, or the NHS, is ridiculous. I'd vote for a party who would grasp the nettle, commission a massive study into the various healthcare systems around the world, and then come up with a model that actually works.