Politicians And Healthcare? No Thanks!

So we are now well into 2017, and so far very little has changed since 2016. Celebrity deaths continue apace, and every aspect of our society is becoming dogged by politics. Personally I have no interest in politics whatsoever. Politicians are generally overpaid wordsmiths looking to tie us up in knots, while they make a fabulous personal living. With all the streams of communication we have these days, I find it hard to believe anything that happens outside of my own house! If I were to judge the world by what I read in the paper or see on my television I would be in a permanent state of depression!

At the age of 60 I have seen many recessions, and bitter trade union disputes. Times when I thought any little money I did have, was going to disappear with the world economy. But I’m still here and as always looking to the future, whatever politics may bring! The saddest thing of all is that when I looked through my previous posts I found one I wrote in June 2014 entitled ‘The Politics Of HealthCare,’ talking about the meddling in healthcare by politicians. With nearly two and a half years gone past, we are still looking at the ‘N.H.S crisis’ and so many debates in the U.S regarding ‘Obama Care.’

Needless to say things are only getting worse for people who become sick, which is basically all of us if you think about it! While people sit around and discuss the state of health service, things regress by the minute. All we ever seem to do is want to play with words and political soundbites, and put any meaningful decisions into ‘the long grass.’ As we all know you cannot continue to just leave things and expect them to suddenly improve. This health crisis has been coming for many years but no Government wanted to deal effectively with it. Hoping we could just limp on until someone else takes over running the country. But it appears we have reached the point of no return.

The first subject that ever crops up in discussions is of course money. Naturally this is important, but not the only thing that needs to be talked about. There is always a culture of waste in all Government departments, and the N.H.S is one of the most guilty. There also needs to be a much more coordinated effort regarding the ‘patient pathway.’ Patients being moved around from department to department with clinicians that know little about the case. Of course communication being yet another basic skill that is so poor in a vast organisation.

We can all sit and blame each other for what has happened over the years, but we are where we are, and no amount of fighting will change that. Healthcare in the true sense of the word is something that is very difficult to equate to money, although of course that has to be done. The reality is that wherever we are in the world there is no endless budget to treat what ever we have and continue to care for us till the end of our days. The service that was created in 1948 was never designed to do what it is today. We have an aging population and more people are surviving with long term conditions, creating a totally different set of problems. There is also now a very diverse population creating it’s own unique issues.

We call our service a ‘British institution,’ of which we are rightly proud, but I would say that currently it is not fit for purpose. On a personal basis I have received and continue to receive incredible care, but I can see how things are changing. More run of the mill work is becoming difficult as the numbers seeking help swell. The system is chaotic and like most large Government run departments, there has been little long term planning, just constant short term ‘fire fighting.’ No political party really wanting to be responsible for making the changes that are required.

My feeling is that wherever we are in the world our healthcare systems are far too important to put into the hands of people who get paid to talk for a living! We need expert medical and business people to solve the issues that we have now and will get in the future. We are still living in the past with the way that we look after our health which is absolutely crazy in these days of technology. No more post code lotteries and luck, whether we survive or don’t. We are all equal and should be treated as such regarding our care.

Of course the Government is not responsible for our health, we are, and there is a lot that we can do to help ourselves which of course will help the system in the long term. But this is a society issue and will need looking into areas of education etc, to ensure our children understand the impact that their food choices may have on them. That is looking at the bigger picture.

It is now very difficult to avoid politics as it seems to have made the world very anxious and divided, but one thing that should bring us together is looking after our health and that of our children and grandchildren. Whatever view you have I think we must all agree that the current systems are no longer working and we need to have action to improve them. My personal view is that we should have the least necessary input from politicians, but what do you think? Please feel free to share your views below.