Just like the babies I care for, our NHS is vulnerable
IT IS no wonder that the National Health Service has come to be treasured by so many – healthcare which meets the needs of everyone, free at the point of delivery and based on clinical need.
Yet, as it celebrates its 70th year, we need to reinstate these founding principles and steady the ship in the face of growing pressure and uncertainty.
As a country we are rightly proud of our NHS and the majority of us, at some time, have been helped by the NHS. After all, most of us were literally born in the NHS, with either a midwife or obstetrician assisting our mother through childbirth.
As a junior doctor working in paediatrics in the NHS, one of my greatest privileges is being invited to share in the most heartfelt moments between parents and their children.
I recently attended the birth of baby Lola. Her mother’s pregnancy had been normal but things started to get more complicated during labour. Lola came out completely floppy and blue; she didn’t attempt to breathe on her own.
We dried her and rubbed her with a towel, hoping she would start moving and begin to cry, but she remained limp and wouldn’t breathe. The midwife listened for a heartbeat and immediately looked concerned as she realised Lola’s heart rate was far too slow.
I held a tiny mask to Lola’s mouth and nose so I could breathe for her. It was a tense few minutes with this tiny life hanging in the balance.
As Lola received the air that she needed, her heart rate came back up and, after just a few minutes of help, she began to breathe by herself. With great relief, we handed Lola, breathing and wriggling, to her mum for a cuddle while we got some equipment ready to start her on antibiotics.
Unfortunately, working as a paediatrician isn’t just about the joyful moments. Recently, a beautiful baby boy passed away on our intensive care ward overnight. Despite all the advances of modern medicine, his distraught mum tenderly cradled her baby as he breathed his last.
The heartbreak pierced the air in the whole ward. Apart from the cold, mechanical beeps of hospital machines, the ward remained silent for the rest of the night. As I walked home in the morning, I began to weep.
For me, looking after babies represents one of the most beautiful aspects of our NHS. Babies are completely vulnerable and dependant on others for survival, and our team do all we can to help them breathe, grow and live normal lives.
My work reminds me that nothing should be taken for granted. The irony is that the NHS too is vulnerable and dependant on us for its survival and wellbeing.
There have been many milestones since the inception of the NHS in 1948 as it has played host to a wealth of groundbreaking discoveries and new, life-changing treatments. However, it has increasingly fallen victim to political point-scoring as new policies have come and gone without adequate planning or discussion. As a result, the NHS has too often been neglected, underfunded and understaffed.
Increasing demands and the rising population means that more and more is expected from our health service, yet it is being starved of the resources it needs to not only thrive but, at points, survive.
The NHS, like many of its patients, is in need of urgent treatment. Efficiency savings, spending cuts and so-called winter pressures have caused deep wounds. The recent announcement from the Prime Minister to increase NHS funding is positive and shows that the Government is beginning to listen, but will it go far enough?
The 3.4 per cent increase is still below the minimum four per cent that the British Medical Association, medical health experts and the chief executive of the NHS, Sir Simon Stevens, have called for. This money has to stretch a long way. It will be crucial therefore how the cash will be prioritised and spent.
As well as greater funding, the solution will demand creativity, wisdom and input from all corners of the NHS. How do we reduce waste? How do we improve staff morale and wellbeing? How do we improve research and keep searching for advances in healthcare? How do we help vulnerable patients such as those who are mentally unwell, homeless or isolated? How do we tackle problems such as obesity, alcohol and smoking? Only through long-term planning and adequate funding and staffing will the NHS continue to meet its three founding principles.
We need solutions, and NHS staff need to be part of the team who help find them. As the NHS turns 70, I feel privileged to be part of such a team – I just hope that, in 70 years’ time, there will be another junior doctor just like me with a positive story to tell about the health service they dearly care for.