The current
crisis in the National Health Service will persist until rising temperatures
and a media exhausted by repetition of the acronym allow the ‘story,’ to
disappear. There will be no new money, substantive or otherwise. Nor will there
be any bold action, any concessionary or apologetic speeches – anything that
might be considered leadership.
The consequence
will be repetition. There will be an NHS winter crisis over the 2019 new year.
If the system – or the government in charge of it – has not broken by then, the
same will be true of the 2020 period. It is a sad truth of politics that when
no obvious or easy solutions present themselves, inaction becomes a viable option.
Yet inaction creates a vacuum that gets filled with ideas that are dangerous,
disruptive or just wrong. Inaction allows the narrative to be hijacked by those
with wicked agendas, who will then point to future crises whilst wearing
incredulous grins chuckling “I told you
so.” In a sense, this is the long-term danger of a lack of leadership with
the NHS – that those who talk of privatisation may rear their heads and become
validated in the eyes of some.
And thus, we
return to the need for leadership. It is opportune that in the same week the
NHS was reaching breaking point, the health secretary Jeremy Hunt was proving
where his loyalties lie – himself. He is obviously the individual whom blame
should most firmly be placed, if for no other reason than his position makes
him the figurehead of the organisation. He should be sacked, not because of
politics, but because anyone, in any line of work, who was failing in their
position so egregiously should be, and would have been, sacked.
Yet the Prime
Minister can’t. Indeed, it seems she is incapable of doing much of anything,
but staying on point momentarily: her attempts to remove Mr. Hunt from health
were scuppered by her own weak position. Justine Greening, formerly of
education, had already walked, and Mr. Hunt must surely have been aware that
his departure would have threatened Mrs. May’s government. Again, despite
politics (and frankly, despite the NHS crisis) when a Prime Minister does not
have the authority to appoint, dismiss and rearrange members of their cabinet,
we must question their capacities. Of all the things that can be said about the
current government, incompetent does not seem wholly fair, whilst cruel implies some conspiracy. Instead, I
prefer sycophantic.
But returning
to the NHS, what can Mrs. May do? An initial action immediately presents itself
– more money. Many critics, including myself, argue that simply throwing more
money at the NHS will not solve the underlying problems within the system, and
that is true (though money is clearly a large part of any solution). But whilst
there is an immediate crisis, concerns for fiscal efficiency must be set aside
so that people may be seen, treated and given a bed if required. For those,
mostly elderly individuals, who have paid taxes and now call on the medical
services of the NHS, it is their right and this government’s obligation to
ensure those services are provided and unimpeded.
I understand it
is not possible to expand the capacity of our hospitals, or the number of
doctors and nurses on the wards, overnight. That is why Mrs. May should move to
commandeer the resources of private healthcare providers in the short-term.
Such powers are those exclusive to the government, and should be utilised when
the situation calls for it. Right now, the situation calls for it, yet such a
bold move seems outside the reach of those presently in power.
Finally, and I
think most importantly for the long-term, the government needs to understand
the pressures facing the health service. Of course, the government will claim
it does (amongst other claims), but I offer some tangible actions that might
add credence to this quite vapid statement.
Firstly,
Theresa May should visit every hospital in the country. She should not visit
one or two with a press pack, and talk only to those members of staff who have
been photogenically lined up by the reception desk. She should visit every
hospital, and field the concerns of every doctor, nurse and patient who wish to
speak to her. For Mrs. May, it must not be an act of PR or policy launching,
but simple listening and observation.
Second, there
should be an inquiry into the cause of the current NHS crisis that places blame
and puts forward solutions, so as to prevent the predictions I have made above.
Certainly, the heads of hospital trusts should testify, as well as Jeremy Hunt,
and the Prime Minister if so required. Only once the social, financial and
political causes of the strains in the NHS are understood should further ideas
– such as royal commission – be considered. This seems only logical.
Third, we must
not ignore the NHS. As eluded to earlier, the coverage in the press plays a
huge role in how the health of the health service is understood by the public.
Yet if during the summer we ignore the state of the NHS, simply because there
are no headline-grabbing stories, should we not expect issues to arise when the
winter pressures hit? Indeed, should we not be more aware of the constant pressures facing the NHS? If we
only fight for something when there is an existential risk to it, are we not
partly to blame when it disappears?
There are some
things the government could be doing right now to solve this problem, but
through distraction and weakness they are failing to serve the NHS, and by
extension the country. The consequences of doing nothing, in both regards, may
be counted in lives lost, and surely that is an unacceptable metric?
