By Isle of Wight Observer
I have an incredible body.
It’s not the best looking, or the slimmest. Ideally, it could be a little longer, say 6’ not 5’8”, but over the holidays, its done a great job keeping me alive.
Just prior to Christmas, my upper right-side jaw ached. Thankfully, Newport’s excellent St James’ Dental Clinic agreed to see me immediately. On arrival, teeth were tapped and x-rays taken. My kindly dentist quickly identified a sinus infection and prescribed antibiotics. I dashed to Tim’s terrific pharmacy in Yarmouth where drugs were swiftly prescribed.
I usually have a high threshold of pain – but keeping this torment at bay demanded paracetamol, every four hours. It was well under control a few days later. After Boxing Day, I felt rough again. Maybe I had a cold, but my throat was sore, and I coughed, a lot.
During the day, I coped manfully, but at night, I couldn’t lie down or sleep. My chest hurt and I was short of breath.
Alternately I shivered and sweated. For several nights, all I could do was sit bolt upright on the sofa, heavily dosed up. My voice went and my jaws ached, and I had trouble swallowing.
Knowing the NHS was too busy to save me, I didn’t trouble the doctor nor dial 101. I just prayed that if things got worse, someone would find time to save me. I’m now able to report that I pulled through. My terrific torso has successfully fought off what appeared to be another nasty Chinese Covid flu virus, hMPV.
In the brief spells between symptoms, I did attend St Mary’s, to visit my poor old mum. On Christmas Day, I took turkey and all the trimmings.
I pay tribute to the army of staff who kept our busy hospital going over the holiday. Many gave up precious time with their own families to care for ours. My criticism of the NHS is always aimed squarely at its inept and overpaid management, not the people working at the sharp end.
Britain’s NHS is the largest employer in Europe, but what does that say about it? We don’t have Europe’s largest population, nor do we enjoy the world’s best healthcare. In my first hand experience, and that of family and friends, Spanish, French and German health services seem better. I’d definitely rather have cancer treatment in America. Super-wealthy Brits and rockstars with cancer always head over to the Cedars-Sinai clinic in Los Angeles.
Just getting a diagnosis here can take so long, it’s too late to be of any practical use.
When it works, our NHS can be wonderful, but at best, it’s a curate’s egg, good in parts. Eighty-three per cent of us say we have ‘concerns’ about NHS services – I’m surprised that’s not 100 per cent. Likeable new Health Sec, Wes Streeting, says he’ll fix it, but will we notice any difference? Ridiculously, he blames all of its failings on the Tories, but he’ll need to do a lot more than that if he’s serious about reform.
It’s far too early to judge, but employers facing huge hikes in employment taxes will demand real value for that extra money, as will the rest of us. Nothing funded by the overburdened British taxpayer ever seems to work properly.
Greed, waste, inefficiency and incompetence abound in every Whitehall department. Here’s an example: Britain’s HS2 costs us a staggering £396 million per mile of finished track. A similar line in France cost them just £31 million. How can ours possibly cost more than ten times as much money? If the Tories had the first clue about controlling public spending, they would have done it.
Despite record investment, Britain’s NHS remains a complete basket case. Sadly, Starmer’s lot appear just as brainless about how to fix it.