Our National health Service has more than it’s fair share of critics, But I have always felt that a lot of the criticism is receives is unfair. I am not referring to the administrative side but rather the healthcare it provides. Through my own immediate family and through friends I have seen it operate up close and the overwhelming majority of our healthcare professionals are fantastic. The expertise we have in this Country is second only to America, yes there are areas in which we are perhaps not as advanced, whether it is due to lack of funding, or complacency I don’t know, or maybe the disease is not “fashionable” enough like Aids which has billions spent on it. I refer to help for children with illness’s outside the norm, rarer conditions that need more funding, again I speak from personal experience. But overall the dedication and genuine concern of our Doctors and Nurses shines through. I use my Humble blog today to offer them a heartfelt thank you.
Wednesday, 22 July 2009
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Totally agree. For 'common' acute conditions, the NHS provides quality healthcare. For rarer conditions, those outside the norm, I don't think it quite cuts the mustard. For example, did you know that at Great Ormond Street there is only 3 (Yes, count'em ONE, TWO, THREE beds for children with metabolic disorders.
ReplyDeleteShucks, i wonder how many beds in total there is nationally, and with just 3 beds for children with metabolic disorders what that'd be in percentage terms. Someone do the math please.
Now before anyone pipes up and says 'yes, but these are very rare conditions - that's why there's only 3 beds' then explain why such long waits to get admittance, why the Metabolic docs and nurses are working 15 hour shifts a day, and once your in, like a waiter at a posh restaraunt, every effort is made to discharge you to free the bed for the next child.
Everyone's eyes are on the treatment and research of more typical illnesses - and rightly so, they more common because we can all get them - but lets not sweep the rarer ones under the carpet becuase we might think money and research into rare conditions takes our eyes of the big prize.
They are human too, and they didn't choose a rare condition - it was the card they were dealt.
Also, bear this in mind. Billions are spent on the big diseases - and some are tremendously complex to crack - like cancer or Aids. Did you ever think that some of these 'rarer' ones may in fact be 'easier' - but as there's only one man and his dog doing research (in relative terms), the rarer, yet possibly easier condition, won't be solved.