This is a very lazy post, it’s a cut and paste of one I made three years ago. Why am I saying/doing this? Because it shows how I felt *then*. Here goes:
I am an enormous fan of the NHS. Why?
A few examples of how I’ve personally benefited from the NHS:
- Both parents have received either life-saving or -enhancing treatment. Hospital stays, operations, long-term treatment all provided in (I think) a timely fashion. For free.
- My daughter was born with NHS assistance (actually, so was I, but I don’t remember that). Midwives are a key part of the NHS service, and their commitment to the mothers and children under their care is essential and wonderful. Free, supported home birth (to start with), then ambulance and hospital care, with the all the drugs and care required.
- Reduced cost dental care. I don’t visit the dentist as often as I ought, but that’s my own problem. My daughter’s dental care and orthodontist treatment is free. NHS dentistry is incredibly valuable.
- GP care and prescription drugs. I try not to use the GP (typical man that I am), but I know he/she is there, and the long-term medication I use is cheap at the price. I’ve used the local surgery for all manner of issues, for a dodgy toe, chest infection, ear syringing – and that’s just me. My wife and daughter also use the GP when necessary, and it’s all in a timely manner and free.
- A&E. Waiting times are never a joy, but I know that when it’s an emergency I can get the care I need. I’ve gone in for different things, the most recent was a nasty scalpel wound that needed patching up. Free.
There are more things which are free if you’re below certain incomes, or in various age/support categories: prescriptions, hearing aids, glasses, dentistry.
The NHS is something we can be proud of, and we need to keep it, not lose it. I know the NHS is there, and that I can rely on it, and I want this to be the same for the future, not just mine, but my daughter’s too.
So this was my view in early 2015, has it changed?
Not an awful lot. If anything, it’s grown stronger, and I’m more concerned about the future of the NHS than ever before. I do believe it’s under threat more so now than before.