My family has a long history with the NHS.
My father was a doctor who came, with my mother, to Crawley in the 1950s and set up the GP practice at 2 Forester Road, Southgate. I still bump into patients who remember him. Mum was a nurse who, after raising a family returned to the NHS working in theatres at Cuckfield Hospital.
I was born in the NHS in 1958. Apparently I was the 7,275,409th baby born into the NHS!
In 1977 I trained as a nurse at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, then worked at St Marks, the East Surrey, the Queen Vic and finally in community nursing.
My parents knew life before the NHS and understood the difference it made, but my generation have never known anything else, and perhaps we have taken it too much for granted over the years.
We’re all incredibly grateful when it helps us, but do we always really value our NHS as we should?
Covid taught us all how important the NHS is. Despite 10 years of wage freezes and austerity cuts, NHS staff stepped up in a way that humbled us all. From the beginning they selflessly put themselves in danger to care for us. They were magnificent. But our leaders declined to reward that with anything more than a doorstep clap.
People often think they’re alright because they have private cover, not realising this will only help with acute or short term problems – a new hip, cataracts or hernia repair. Get something chronic or long term like MS, Crohns Disease or rheumatoid arthritis and you have just 12 months of cover tops. When you renew your policy, they either won’t cover it or will charge thousands to do so.
ONLY the NHS is there ALWAYS for EVERYONE.
It shouldn’t be a party political matter – but it really is.
NHS – In 1997, after 18 years in power, the Conservative offer if re-elected was to reduce waiting lists to 18 MONTHS.
NHS – By 2010, after 13 years in power, Labour had reduced all waiting times to 18 WEEKS, all cancer targets were heading in the right direction and the service had the highest satisfaction rate in its history.
NHS – Today, after just 13 more years of Conservative government, our NHS is again on its knees.
Doctors and nurses are striking – something they find incredibly difficult to do. - Cllr Alison Cornell
They are leaving the professions in droves, not just in search of better pay, but in order to work somewhere sufficiently resourced to allow them to actually deliver the quality of care they were trained to deliver.
When the NHS is under resourced its staff are being set up to fail. Every day, good, hard working, dedicated staff face failing to meet some of their patients’ needs, with no ability to improve the situation.
I couldn’t do it.
For the first time in my life, I am not confident that the NHS will be there if I need it. I’m not sure my grandchildren will be able to depend on it as I have.
That’s NOT progress.
So whenever the next election comes, if you value the NHS, if you want it to be there in another 75 years:
Vote for the party that created it.
Vote for the party that values it.
Vote for the party that rescued it in 1997.
Vote for the only party that will rescue it again.
Vote Labour.
Cllr Alison Cornell
County Councillor for Langley Green and Ifield East