The NHS Must Be Properly Funded

by Sophie Mitchell

The NHS has been at the forefront of our media in current times. For once, its funding is not being cut nor is the NHS at the forefront of a political campaign. Its rather at the front of national support, with every Thursday being dedicated to ‘Clap for our NHS and Carers.’ We must admire those going into the front line, risking their lives to save others. But, is this a reflection on our health service, on our government, that despite all of the positivity and help, it is peppered with the negative sides of lack of PPE and lack of ventilators, an NHS that might not be able to cope?

The structure of the NHS in England and Wales was established by the National Health Service Act 1946. The Act implemented a system where each person would be assigned to a specific general practitioner, allowing them to access further support from the system. It also relied on the introduction of National Insurance in 1912, ensuring that everyone would have access to all medical, dental and nursing care without needing to pay for it at the time. However, it was not as popular as first imagined. So much so that the BMA (British Medical Association) decided not to join in 1948. However, they were quickly convinced after they were offered a lucrative payment structure for consultants and the NHS was established on the 5th of July 1948.

Now, however, the NHS faces a new threat. SARS-CoV-2 (COVID 19) has now become a global pandemic and our NHS is now more needed than ever. We see ICUs overrun with patients needing round the clock care, some even needing mechanical ventilation and sedation. Unfortunately, many of those who enter intensive care never recover. Our own Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has had to utilise our NHS. A&Es are having to expand RESUS capacity to children’s units, and paediatric respiratory specialists have been retrained to work with adults. Furthermore, we are now seeing members of the public, an NHS volunteer task force, supporting the community to ensure our hospital resources can remain available to all.

However, there are some elements of our healthcare system that are struggling through no fault of their own. We are seeing hospitals and care settings with a lack of PPE, meaning doctors, nurses and other health care workers are being put at risk. Despite constant confirmation from our government that we have enough PPE and they are doing all they can to access more, we still don’t have enough. As of the 16th of April, the government say there have been 27 verified deaths of NHS staff. But others, including retired staff who still worked within the NHS, have also died. These people have given their lives to save others. Dr Peter Tun, Mary Agyeiwaa Agyapong, Maureen Ellington, Cheryl Williams, Josiane Zauma Ebonja Ekoli, Leilani Medel, Amarante Dias, Melujean Ballesteros, Kevin Smith, Elbert Rico, Oscar King Jr, Sara Trollope, Donna Campbell, Donald Suelto, Barbara Moore, Gareth Roberts, Julie Omar, Abdul Mabud Chowdhury, Dr Edmond Adedeji, Elsie Sazuze, Alice Kit Tak Ong, Leilani Dayrit, Janice Graham, Dr Syed Zishan Haider, Aimee O’Rourke, Areema Nasreen, Lynsay Coventry, Pooja Sharma, Dr Fayez Ayache, Jitendra Rathod, Rebecca Mack and Glen Corbin, as well as many others. Their sacrifice shall be remembered.

But surely this is a reflection of our NHS? That we have to ask retired staff to return to ensure staffing levels are high enough to save lives. That we have to ask fashion designers to make PPE to ensure levels are high enough. That we are asking F1 manufacturers and hoover makers to supply us with enough ventilators to support as many as we can. The funding has been cut year on year; the budget for public health services is now £850 million lower than in 2015/16 and by 2021, the budget will have been cut by 25% from its 2015/16 level in real terms. At the end of 2018, £1bn of cuts to public health services and the training of nurses and doctors over the following year were concealed within Government plans to boost the NHS budget by £20bn by 2023. It is the poorest communities that are being hit the hardest by these cuts. Hopefully, after this crisis is over, we will see newfound respect for our NHS, with further support and funding to improve a service at the forefront of saving lives. Hopefully, our own Prime Minister will see that the NHS is not a commodity to use in political warfare, and rather has a much greater function. Furthermore, hopefully, more people will learn to respect our services, using A&E when they need to rather than turning up with alcohol inflicted injuries.

The NHS has never been so important. Our health service is at the forefront of everyone’s minds as are those who go to work every day and risk their lives for others. Yes, the coronavirus may be a reflection of its lack of funding, but it's also a reflection on a country that can pull together to support each other in a time of crisis. We, as a nation, have progressed and it’s fair to say life will never be the same again. We have come out the other side stronger, and hopefully, the NHS will benefit in future budgets.