‘Voters – not politicians – are to blame for NHS crisis’
Edinburgh GP Dr Gavin Francis is known around the world for his books which unravel what it means to be human. However, he’s got some harsh truths when it comes to what is gone wrong with our health service – and why – our Writer at Large discovers
FAME is a strange concept these days, rendered trashy and meaningless by the celebrity machine of reality TV and the reputation-devouring lure of social media, where the rich and powerful go to swap acclaim for notoriety and kill their legacy for a few clicks.
Some, though, still carry fame with dignity – like Dr Gavin Francis, the internationally acclaimed bestselling author. Despite his accolades, every week you’ll find him at his GP surgery in Edinburgh, treating patients from morning to night.
Francis is part of a long line of doctors who have balanced stethoscope with pen and took up the literary life while still a medic: from Scotland’s Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to Oliver Sacks, who wrote Awakenings.
His works include Adventures in Human Being which won the Saltire Award; Intensive Care: A GP, A Community and Covid-19; Shapeshifters: A Journey Through the Changing Human Body; and this year’s bestseller Recovery: The Lost Art of Convalescence. Although these books explore the human condition through the eyes of a doctor, Francis is equally admired for his adventure and travelling writing – works like True North: Travels in Artic Europe; Island Dreams; and Empire Antartica. A doctor for 23 years, he is a fellow of both the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of
General Practitioners. His books have been translated into 18 languages.
He will surely hate the notion, but Francis is probably the most famous doctor in Scotland, if not Britain. In person, there is no hint of fame. He is thoughtful, considered, quietly spoken – the quintessential community doctor, not a literary celebrity. Though he does bear a slightly unsettling similarity to Ewan McGregor, both in looks and accent.
However, his renown gives him clout. His words matter – and today, Francis has some rather challenging points to make about the state of the NHS in Scotland and the rest of Britain.
Crisis
THE NHS is in “crisis” and urgent lifethreatening procedures could soon be in jeopardy, he warns. Francis fears for the future of the NHS. But he doesn’t simply blame politicians in Edinburgh and London. As you would expect with a medic, he is ruthless with facts – he gives bad news honestly so the patient can make the most informed choice about their future.
So here’s the bad news: we’re to blame for the state of the NHS, the great British, and Scottish, public. We elected the politicians who made this mess – and we keep electing them. Like the best medicine, it doesn’t taste good, but it’s necessary.
The illness that besets the NHS is “chronic underfunding”. Discussing mental health as an example, he says the NHS must “concentrate on the severe end of the scale – people who need sectioned, are suicidal, dangerously psychotic. There’s not enough slack in the system, not enough resource to deal with everything.”
The NHS needs more money. That means taxation. “There doesn’t seem to be any political party on offer suggesting to people that we find more money from the national budget … Parties that say, ‘right, we’re going to have to charge you all more money and we’ll get better health services’ – they don’t get voted in.”
Although “frustrated”, Francis says: “I also have to accept that we live in a democracy, and this is the level [of services] voters want,