STAFFORD : SYMPTOM OF FAILED NHS.

Anyone's who's ever worked in the NHS knows that its status as the 'sacred cow' which cannot be criticised is wholly unjustified. The regular claims that it's the envy of the world are such balderdash that I hear myself groan loudly every time some imbecile trots out this favourite mantra of the left.

 

The truth is that the NHS is very little different to any other monolithic organisation; the central control exerted by successive governments has made it all but unmanageable. The huge and exponentially increasing demands placed upon it simply cannot be met and disasters such as has happened in Staffordshire are endemic, if largely hidden in mountains of paperwork and statistics.

 

NHS managers, of whom there are undoubtedly far too many although their numbers are dictated by the ridiculous expectations of central government, work their socks off trying to cope with a system near collapse. Doctors, who come in all varieties from excellent to extremely poor, frequently are nowhere to be seen. Nurses, who we are told are wonderful, caring angels, are really no different to the rest of the workforce; they work for the money they get at the end of the month. Admittedly many hospital wards are short staffed and the doctors and nurses are hard pressed, but the appalling lack of care and attention that I've witnessed on several occasions and at different hospitals has little to do with this; the staff actually don't care very much at all.

 

Our NHS is not the envy of the world, it's not even close; our adherence to this ludicrous notion makes us a laughing stock. The NHS is an outdated institution which consumes vast resources while delivering 'care' which is often wholly unacceptable. It is a mess and that mess has been created by the meddling of politicians over the last 50 years. Astonishingly, the Government is currently in a tizz over the question of horsemeat in our food and has set up crisis meetings and 'summits' in order to reslove this insignificant matter while doing nothing at all about the much greater crisis affecting the NHS. This is, of course, what politicians do, making a huge fuss about insignificant things while ignoring the much more important issues for which they have no solutions or for which the solution is considered unpalletable.

 

The NHS is well passed its 'sell by date';  our whole healthcare system needs a complete overhaul but, sadly, there isn't a politican in the land who has the guts to either say so or to make it happen.