Shropshire Star comment: NHS is a life-saver that needs to be kept alive
Huge numbers of people took part in a Shropshire Star survey regarding the future of the NHS.
And the overwhelming conclusion can be summarised thus: The general public continues to love the National Health Service but a majority of people fear for its future.
Perhaps both strands of that conclusion are not unexpected.
Since Aneurin Bevan created the NHS 70 years ago, the institution has become the envy of the world. Providing free care at the point of need, it has been a life-saver for millions. Fair, not discriminating on the basis of ability to pay, ethnicity, gender or creed; it has been a byword for excellence in healthcare, a global success story that has truly shown people the best of British.
The fact that so many people fear for the future of our beloved NHS is also not surprising. It is facing one of the greatest challenges in its history as huge demand, spiralling costs and unachievable expectations weigh it down.
Not a day passes without some form of crisis or scandal at a hospital, ambulance station or some other part of the system. Both the world of modern medicine and our demand for improved health care have moved forward at an electrifying pace and the NHS has not been able to keep up. It is no longer able to meet the standards the public routinely expects and many have watched on incredulously as politicians have failed to get to grips with a series of unfolding crisis.
That the NHS is at a crossroads is unarguable. A bewildering array of expensive treatments are now available that were once the stuff of dreams: titanium plates, which cost a small fortune; wonder drugs that are new to the market and so on. The NHS would require vast investment to keep pace with the wonders of modern medical technology.
It is not just the cost and range of treatment that is different. The NHS also has to contend with an ageing population, which places a greater strain on the service. The idea of having a one-hospital-helps-all model may no longer be appropriate. As we move into a new era, it may be better to have regional centres of excellence; larger, specialist A&E departments, rather than one for each local hospital; and other measures that achieve economies of scale. We have to look at concentrating areas of expertise and specialism if we are to keep up, while keeping costs down so that the NHS remains affordable.
Herein Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Mid-Wales, there have been huge changes to local health services. The ongoing Future Fit process will bring enormous change to the area and people have an opportunity to provide input as part of a public consultation exercise. The uncertainties facing some local facilities, be they A&E units or maternity wards, has caused discomfort for many. People have had to relearn how to use the NHS; using 999 ambulances only in the case of an emergency, tapping into GP services and other health care providers when appropriate.
We must congratulate the many people who took part in our survey on the future of the NHS. It has provided food for thought and we will encourage decision makers to look closely at what you have said. After all, the NHS is a public institution and it must reflect the will of the people to some extent, providing services that tax payers need.
After 70 years, the NHS has become unrecognisable from Anuerin Bevan’s initial institution. As things stand, the NHS isn’t broken but it is in need of urgent repair.
