NHS needs its Monicas
MONICA Bulman started nursing in 1952, four years after the birth of the NHS.
She was 19 years old and embarking on a career that brought her nothing but joy.
Last week she celebrated her 83rd birthday – on the endoscopy ward at Torbay Hospital in Devon, where she still works up to 20 hours a week.
Mrs Bulman says she has seen many changes in 64 years. “Especially the technology, which is wonderful unless it breaks down.”
But she has no plans to retire, explaining: “The NHS has been a huge part of my life and I’m always happy at work.
Caring
in five years as lack of social care leaves elderly folk stuck in hospital.
Hundreds of thousands of people wait more than four hours to be seen in A&E, cancer treatment is delayed and thousands of other patients miss out on costly drugs.
Morale is at rock bottom too. While the junior doctors’ dispute makes headlines nurses are run off their feet because of a 24,000 staffing shortage. Yet the NHS still does an incredible job. Every 36 hours its 1.3 million staff treat one million patients with a budget of £116.5billion.
It’s not enough to deal with our ageing population. But the Government will not increase the NHS budget in line with predicted GDP growth – thus robbing it of £16billion by 2020.
And what about that £350million in EU funds the Brexiteers promised would land in NHS coffers once we voted out?
Of course those coffers aren’t bottomless. We must find ways to save our NHS and technology will play a huge part.
One health authority is trialling a smartphone app featuring a “virtual nurse” called Olivia. She wears blue scrubs and gives advice on symptoms and treatments in five languages. But before Mr Hunt gets carried away with apps and avatars, he needs to invest in PEOPLE.
To make all nurses, doctors and frontline staff feel like veteran Monica Bulman – valued, happy and committed to caring.
She’s the human face of the NHS that no virtual nurse can ever replace. we’ll soon be seeing the cast of TOWIE and Geordie Shore in VVDs – that’s Visible Vagina Dresses. (Shoot me now.) But if going commando is a step too far then the Shibue will ensure they don’t show the whole shebang. It’s a tiny triangle of glue-on fabric There’s also a “C-string”(pictured) which seems to be fashioned from half a pantyliner and a pipe cleaner. Or you could just stick to knickers and a bit of decorum.