I WRITE as a result of skill and resources which were mobilised from the first day of life within the NHS.
However, I recognise the shortcomings of our healthcare system. Being a frequent service user since infancy has allowed me the privilege of building relationships with staff and gaining their views.
As a citizen of this country I understand the competing demands for resources for all nature of things.
It would be natural to assume I would support the NHS. You would be correct – after all, turkeys don’t vote for Christmas.
Despite my personal interest in continuing the service I argue a nation’s defence, wealth and prosperity are, at least in part, founded in the health and wellbeing of its citizens. Think of problems of recruiting healthy people into the forces during the First World War due to the depleted health of the nation.
Resources are finite, no nation can be all things to all men, but we can and should do what is possible.
A nation which looks after its people, while respecting basic human rights, reaps the benefit of a healthy workforce and greater cohesion and stability of society. This further provides more conducive conditions for economic prosperity.
At its inception the NHS was never envisaged to be carrying out the variety of treatments it now does. Nor was it foreseen that life expectancy would increase as it has, or that advances would allow survival of even more. The expansion and strains on services reflects success.
Nonetheless we should reassess our NHS priorities. Lack of early intervention increases challenges to access services, unless in dire circumstances, and can lead to escalating and costlier issues as needs can become severer and long term.
Resource allocation can fail our young and other vulnerable sectors. Deprived juveniles are at risk of presenting as our health, social and criminal concerns.
It is proffered that business and money moving in relieves strain on the NHS, and thus on the government. I would argue against this.
I remember vividly when Romania opened up with terrible images of orphanages. I saw in stark terms what my future would have been. Even if I had miraculously survived, I would have been left in a cot for most of the day with no stimulation, resulting in mental and emotional issues.
Having been cared for in Scotland has provided a certain quality of life. My family was not secure, and did not have the wherewithall to ensure my wellbeing. I recognise the privileged position I have in continuing to receive all medical and surgical intervention as needed. There are concerns of limited resources and access to services but when I consider what the alternative could be I am one of the luckiest people living.
We don’t need to dismantle Bevan’s legacy. There should be a national conversation about coming to a consensus as to our priorities.
It is not about throwing the baby out with the bath water, but securing our NHS baby’s future.
Kirsten Miller, Renfrew.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel