Our NHS: Who Can Help Now?

The NHS is a real priority for me in this election. As an aging woman I want to know it will be there as I and my friends get older and weaker! And so far, it has been. But more than that, I love the NHS. I worked for it for 30 years, first as a volunteer and then, as a manager and an academic. So, although I’ve never been on the front line, I’ve worked hard to help those who do to understand and apply changing health policies to improve their own services on the ground.

I’m committed to the NHS as a citizen too, not least because I’ve seen the impact of the US healthcare system at closer quarters than I wished: watching my aging and weakening parents, able to choose any form of diagnostic test, any time any place – but this choice meant that they were left having to find out who to turn to get the results interpreted. They had choice aplenty – but not the information they needed to find the best person to diagnose and treat them. All that was down to word-of-mouth, which doctor their friends liked without any way of knowing whether that same doctor had the expertise and experience they needed. And all this at their own cost, because despite good health insurance cover and Medicare top-ups, doctors charged additional top up fees. Added to this, prescription drug costs were very high. And then the home care services, privately provided so outside insurance coverage, were a lottery. Despite paying for them, the carers were of variable standards and seemed to arrive at random times, frequently a different one than the day before, all of which was unsettling and unnerving.

Is this the path we want to continue on for ourselves? Because this is the path we are on now. Is it good enough for you or your friends and family?

Today, NHS waiting times are at their highest for a decade. The Conservatives scrapped targets allright – because their funding levels meant that the targets could no longer be met. This has meant longer and longer waiting times for us patients.

For example, the waiting target for cancer treatment, from diagnosis to treatment, is for 95% of patients to be diagnosed and treatment started within 62 days.  This target was met every year since its introduction in 2009, through to 2013/14.  But it has been missed every year since.   Last year, 2016/17, only 82% of patients were diagnosed and treated within the target time.

The NHS runs on its people – and too many of them are overworked.  Tired doctors mean mistakes -and then the doctor is blamed.  Stressed out nurses get sick – or leave the service. There are not enough GPs in the system now to cope with the demands of an aging population.  None of this is down to immigration.  N HS pay levels  have been capped in the name of Austerity.  Budgets are cut – in real terms – in the name of Austerity.

We spend less on our health care system than do our European counterparts.  From what we can see so far, none of the parties’ promises will bring us up  to their levels of spending on health.

The Liberal Democrats’ promise of 1p on income tax is a good idea because it provides a level of stability for NHS planning here-to-fore unknown.  This would be a big help.

Labour is offering £30 billion – the most of all the parties, as far as can be judged from manifestos.  That £6billion a year will also cover re-instating bursaries for nurse training, which should really help recruitment.  The rest will go a long way to shoring up struggling services.  Labour has also pledged to end the current pay restraint which will help retention too.

The Tories, well, we know what we’re getting now and its not good enough.  The end to nurse training bursaries on top of pay caps on nurses’ salaries is already having an adverse effect – and nurses are leaving, meaning that Hospitals have to plug the gaps with more expensive Agency staff, all to do the same jobs, but adding massively to their deficits.

What do you think? Whose policies do you think will help the NHS most? Whatever you think, do go out and vote on Thursday!