From The Mind of Merc - The NHS (Part 1)

Sometimes I find my mind wandering over various eclectic topics and occasionally I am inspired to write some of them down. Today I was thinking about the NHS.

My Facebook profile picture currently features (and has done for a long time) a border with the tagline ‘Thank You NHS’. This is something I feel passionately about – after all, were it not for the NHS, the Coronavirus fallout would have been considerably higher, millions would be in debt and we could even (shock, horror) have lost our Prime Minister! Consequently, in addition to a myriad of other reasons*, I believe it deserves saving. However, probably like a lot of people, I am unsure of what I can do to help so I thought I’d compile a list of some of the ways I’ve found that individuals can help support (and hopefully save) the NHS.

(To be clear, I’m not going down the route of how the government is failing the NHS and what they can do to help it as that is a huge and very complicated post. I started going down that rabbit hole and it took me a while to come out. Although I may look into it in a future post.)

So what are some simple yet effective ways that we as individuals can help save the NHS?

1)   Stay up-to-date and informed – not just to what the proven and demonstrable liars that are our government say but what the facts and figures say.

2)   Speak up – not happy with what’s going on? Say something about it. Use writetothem.com to find your local MP and tell them what’s happening is not acceptable.

3)   Join a campaign – you are not alone – find others who also feel the same way you do and add your voice to theirs.

4)   Stay healthy – while poor health isn’t always avoidable, if you do what you can to minimise your health risks, you are massively helping the NHS.

5)   Don’t abuse the system – only go to the A&E if you need to go to A&E. If you’re not sure, use this handy chart. Misuse of the services costs millions every year.

Conversely, if you do need the NHS, do not be discouraged or avoid using it – that’s what it’s there for.

6)   Don’t miss appointments or cancel at short notice – this also costs the NHS money, which could have been spent elsewhere if you weren’t going to use it.

7)   Show you care – the NHS has its own charity to which you can donate to show your support and appreciation for their tireless devotion to duty.

8)   Also, obviously, don’t be abusive - NHS staff devote their lives to helping others. Directing your anger or frustration towards them is not acceptable behaviour.

9)   Volunteer – you can support the NHS physically through any one of their many volunteering initiatives.  

You might think that some or even all of these are a lot of effort but:

a)      It’s a lot less than the effort the NHS workers put in to keep us alive

b)      It’s be a lot more effort in the long-term in you don’t

Also, these are important as the actions we take, aside from their main aim of saving the NHS, they demonstrate undeniably to the powers that be that you believe the NHS deserves saving.

 

*Before the NHS was instigated in 1948 following a doggedly determined campaign headed by the late, great Aneurin Bevan (and which was vehemently opposed by the Tories), people unable to afford to pay for a doctor (which accounted for the majority of the working class) would not have access to medical support and supplies. This very nearly led to my not being here as my grandmother contracted diphtheria at the age of 6 and it was only due to a fortunate coincidence that this was spotted, correctly diagnosed and treated. However, it could so easily have had the opposite outcome.