Our NHS

Apologies to any readers from outside the DUK. though the reputation of this NHS concept is widespread ... the envy of countries all round the world ... if countries, as concepts, can experience envy... or just to acknowledge the sincerely held belief of some folks that the world is not round at all, but flat ... certainly I can live my daily life quite happily as if it were flat ... and even more amazed at how the Sun sets at one edge and pops up later at the other ... on the Ways I am often amazed watching Sunrise and Sunset ... better than the telly even ... to be honest I, like most people at this historical time in this geographical place, believe the Earth is round(ish) ... science says so, astronauts observed it and so knowledge grows ... not so long ago, scientists risked their lives from a powerful church, or to be more accurate, powerful humans with their own agendas, to spread the round earth theory ... these days some scientists risk their reputations proposing theories outside the mainstream ... which does not make their theories right, or wrong ...

Anyway, Science is a sacred cow for another day ... focusing on one topic at a time is very challenging ... maybe through slackness, maybe because everything is interconnected. .. as seen through revelation, not any scientific endeavour.

Briefly, because time is short, OUR NHS was launched in 1948, as part of a Welfare State, a compassionate concept after the horrors of WW2 ... the voters had turned their back on the old warrior, Churchill, and elected a radical Labour government. Sceptics might say that the NHS, plus sick pay, retirement pensions and so on would be helpful for healthier soldiers if things kicked off again ... and that the nationalisation of utilities recapitalised the essential industries to support private enterprise ... there's the Marxist bias again ... notwithstanding, the radical reforms, to be paid from taxes and National Insurance, were pretty much considered a good thing. The medical establishment put up stern resistance to OUR NHS, but Nye Bevan "stuffed their mouths with gold" to persuade them. Later they developed ways to butter their bread on both sides. And, of course, many medical staff at all levels loved the concept and still do.

Political parties too. Politicians are not the most admired of us. Easy targets.

For a while OUR NHS was untouchable. The NHS changed and grew. And grew and grew.
Our clever medics found more and more ways to prolong and enhance our lives. Dodgy heart? Have another one! Dodgy joints? Routine. Symptoms of disease? We have a drug for that. Side effects from the drug? We have a drug for that too. Mum had a cocktail of around eight tablets in her last few years. .. maybe more. That's normal. Mostly treating symptoms.

The edifice tottered as corrupting drug corporations took over. Do your own research.

The beloved family doctor, or GP was and is the cornerstone of each community. All services free at the point of use. Most GPs don't work directly for the NHS, but in a Partnership. And there are four NHS organisations, one in each nation of the DUK. Still, Science progressed, and amazing new drugs were discovered and patented. New expensive kit become essential. Brain scanners.
Targets were set to address health inequalities. Amazingly, after much research, it was discovered that health inequalities were very strongly linked to social inequalities. Who would have thought it?
Targets were set. Longevity grew all round for a while, then recently dropped. Though not to narrow the social or health inequalities. On the contrary.

However, what does seem clear is that at some point the grey area between life and death was even further blurred, and much effort in health and social care went into prolonging death. Not through any evil intent ... I am not looking for conspiracies. .. but as a result, perhaps of the hypocritical oath itself, plus blame culture ...

Meanwhile, the complex organism which is a human evolves from rural to urban quite quickly, the environment fills with toxins from many sources, diets also ...the incredible immune system struggles to adapt to new challenges. .. sometimes it takes a while to deal with threats to the integrity of the organism ... it thrives on a relaxed mind, an optimal diet, fresh air and exercise and, as folk wisdom knows ... dirt ... it's exercise for the immune system.

So the suicidal attack on our defences through stress, junk foods, lack of life giving Sun energy and vitamin D, and antiseptic houses weakens us ... while well meaning early interventions to suppress symptoms in the allopathic orthodoxy mandated in OUR NHS leaves the immune system thinking it's no longer needed ...

There is certainly lots of money to be made out of the whole thing, but it's not necessarily a conspiracy ... in the end we may take responsibility for our own health ... with all the help from brilliant doctors and nurses, working with the wonderful personal physician, which is the immune system.

That's a long post for W&D, but a very short one for the topic.

And a very personal exploration of the question can wait for next time. ..maybe today, maybe tomorrow. .. but rest assured, all is well, whatever happens.