ACCORDING to the BMA, the NHS is in dire need of immediate critical care.
Indeed, an eye-opening new survey by the medical body found that two thirds of doctors in Scotland believe inadequate resources are significantly affecting the quality and safety of care provided, with nine out of 10 describing staffing levels as “inadequate”.
And, in a stark warning around sustainability, nine out of 10 doctors said without a sizeable funding increase the NHS in Scotland will not be able to offer comprehensive care within a decade.
In a speech delivered today, the outgoing chair of the BMA in Scotland, Dr Peter Bennie, goes even further, saying his members are being “pushed to the brink”. He also lays down a challenge to the Scottish Government: the NHS here must aim higher than the “very low bar” of simply being better than England.
These are thought-provoking words indeed at a time when funding is becoming an increasingly politicised issue. Last week the Prime Minister’s over-hyped £20bn “Brexit dividend” for the NHS (£2bn of which is due to come to Scotland) unravelled almost as soon as it was announced. Indeed, not only is there no such thing as a Brexit boost, but number-crunching by the Institute for Fiscal Studies showed Mrs May’s modest cash injection will only keep things going as they are now, and even that will require tax increases.
Yesterday, Scottish Health Secretary Shona Robison surprised many by offering nurses, midwives and other NHS staff earning less than £80,000 a year a 9 per cent pay increase over three years, in a gesture likely to be welcomed as a recognition of the commitment of frontline staff and the importance of retaining their expertise. Quality patient care relies on both, after all. But this will put further strain on already stretched budgets.
In this, its 70th anniversary year, there has been much talk about the immense pride and gratitude we feel for the NHS and the doctors, nurses, midwives and others who care for us from cradle to grave.
What society still shies away from, however, are the difficult conversations around funding, priorities and expectations that will be required for the NHS to survive for another 70 years. And, as the BMA survey highlights, these discussions need to happen sooner rather than later.
But we also need to be more honest with ourselves about how we can all help ease the burden on the health services we claim to value so highly. If we truly loved the NHS, wouldn’t we eat more healthily, do more exercise and thus lower our risk of the diabetes, heart attacks, cancer and strokes that costs the service so dear and risks killing it off altogether?
Making a few lifestyle changes is surely the best birthday present any of us could give the NHS.
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