‘Fix’ the NHS? First, find what broke it

NIGEL JACKLIN

LAST month the government announced a consultation or ‘national conversation’ about the NHS. This was followed by a significant increase in health service funding in Labour’s first Budget. This is all based on the premise that we need to ‘fix’ the NHS. While that may not be too controversial, before fixing anything it’s worth asking what broke it and if anyone has already made suggestions as to how it might be mended.

The NHS has a wealth of patient and staff feedback mechanisms, yet there is a significant number of cases where the NHS or the government has failed to listen. The clearest example was in 2021 when vaccine mandates were introduced. These stipulated that those who worked in or for the NHS would lose their job if they did not get two injections by April 2022.  

I was one of many who actively campaigned to oppose vaccine mandates. We had already defeated the Covid-ID proposals but felt this would be a tough one. In November 2021 my research company Accord.me.UK undertook a survey of NHS workers and others. A total of 1,917 health workers opposed to vaccine mandates took part.  Opposition was strong to say the least.

On Saturday January 22, 2022, tens of thousands took to the streets of London to protest against measures imposed on us by the government. It was a remarkable day.  NHS workers sporting blue NHS100k sweatshirts (NHS100k is an anti-mandate campaign) laid their uniforms on the ground in Trafalgar Square. This was a sombre moment with an almost religious hush in contrast to the noisy scenes at Downing Street where others were throwing their uniforms over the railings.

Our campaign was at a turning point. Soon thereafter the mandate was withdrawn. I truly believe this saved the NHS. The then Health Secretary Sajid Javid had no choice but to listen to professionals who knew more about medicine than he did. Informed consent won the day.

In February this year we recontacted the survey participants and asked them how things were now, and 317 health professionals responded. One question asked them to compare the general state of the NHS now with 2019. The results make depressing reading.  Not one said it was better; 82 per cent said it was much worse, 9 per cent a little worse. When we asked them why they felt this way, 62 per cent cited waiting times/access to GP/services/backlogs, 44 per cent cited staff levels/quality/morale with 28 per cent mentioning funding, management or other factors.  

We asked a separate question about nine different areas of concern ranging from funding to management, public health and staff morale.  We asked respondents to select issues of any concern and to say which were their top concerns. Funding, which has just had a major boost, was low on the list of concerns for this group. Clearly we have a problem which money alone will not solve. The top concerns are shown in the chart with all nine listed below in descending order of importance.

As we might expect from this group, vaccine side effects were the top concern, selected by 68 per cent. For this group the mandates and other measures imposed on us in 2020 and 2021 clearly bear much responsibility for the current state of the NHS.  Comments suggest that vaccine side effects are a problem for both patients and staff.

‘I’ve remained totally healthy as an unvaccinated person who did not follow social distancing and mask wearing in public places. I have zero regrets in my decision to remain vaccine free. Working in health care I’ve never seen so much illness and death in my patients as I’m seeing now. It’s shocking’ – dental hygienist.

‘Patients facing difficulties or delays in accessing NHS services’ was the second highest concern, selected by 63 per cent. GPs came in for particular criticism given the impact of 2020 and 2021:

‘Backlogs, progressive illness, staff have left/forced out. GPs hiding behind closed doors’ – specialist chemotherapy nurse.

‘An unnecessary nightmare of which the consequences will be reaped for many years to come’ – clinical nurse specialist.

‘I was a district nurse working full time. I saw NO evidence of a pandemic. I saw neglect and dereliction of duty of care by GPs.  The death rate in care homes was attributed to a blanket diagnosis of “covid” without even seeing patients and the denial of access to their loved ones. It made me ashamed of my profession as we are supposed to use evidence-based practice and advocate for patients, their choices and human rights. I am still angry and heartbroken at how I was treated after a 25-year unblemished career in nursing’ – triage sister.

‘A general deterioration in public health’ was selected by 45 per cent followed by ‘NHS staff morale’ (37 per cent). ‘Patients avoiding the NHS or losing trust in the NHS’ was selected by 29 per cent, ‘variable quality of NHS care or management’ by 28 per cent.  

The full report is full of examples of management dogma and frustrations at concerns not being heard. The ability to speak out and be heard is no doubt a major concern:

‘I no longer have any trust in the NHS or any political parties after the Covid-19 pandemic. I do not respect authority and worry about the lack of critical thinking amongst the general population’ – radiographer.

‘People who were vocal and dissenting were treated disgracefully. Many were subjected to undue pressure and harassment that continues to this day. It was nothing short of totalitarianism, and many people still in power and positions of authority should hang their heads in disgrace’ – psychiatrist.

What is clear from the second survey is that those who opposed vaccine mandates included some of the more experienced staff working in or for the NHS: 54 per cent of those who took part in the survey were aged 50 or over and 94 per cent had started their training in the UK. There is a risk that more of those professionals who want to speak out may leave the NHS. If you are one of them, we need you to stay in there!

My own conclusions are that, from a ‘patient’ perspective, there is clearly a market for ‘informed consent GP practices.’ A typical small town might already have five to ten practices. All we need is one to declare an interest in health over medicine; I’m sure their list would grow.

We also need to protect and respect those who stand up to abuse of power and dogmatic rule. There seem to be many cases of people who take a stand on issues in the NHS being turned on by management and officialdom. Lucy Letby could be a case in point. 

Finally, we asked where people had turned to for help when they were opposing vaccine mandates. There was a heartening note about the power of family and friends: 61 per cent of those asked had turned to them for help. Alternative media outlets were turned to by 54 per cent and 47 per cent sought the advice of the Workers Of England Union. One clear legacy of 2020/21 is a growing support system for those who seek to challenge the official narrative. That’s good news. Now we just need a more open and trusting environment for people who work in the NHS.

This article (‘Fix’ the NHS? First, find what broke it) was created and published by The Conservative Woman and is republished here under “Fair Use” with attribution to the author Nigel Jacklin