Happy 75th birthday to the NHS, but don’t count on it reaching its 100th, unless politicians can finally start work to address the failings that are putting the service on life support.
There probably will be a Labour government next time round, unless the British electorate goes totally crazy – like it did in 2016 with Brexit. It’s never easy to trust Tories with the NHS, especially when their hero, Winston Churchill, was dead against it, and few of the squillionaires in the Cabinet have ever used it.
But it’s not reassuring to hear Labour politicians say they can’t commit to spending plans until they know how bad the economy will be by the time they inherit the reins of power. They already know it needs reform – even its most ardent fans accept that. So why are they so timid about pledging whatever is needed to make the system work?
I’ve been lucky enough, so far, to have only needed hospital care when my three offspring were born. But I became more familiar with its problems when my elderly mother kept ending up in overcrowded A&E departments, only to be discharged a day later with medication that could easily have been provided by non-emergency care.
It doesn’t take a genius to know that too many people are ending up in emergency departments who are not actual emergencies, but who have nowhere else to go when GP surgeries are closed or too busy. Or that elderly people who are in hospital 'blocking beds' would be only too happy to go home if there was proper after-care available in the community.
It’s funny that the Tories, who passionately believe in market forces, find it so difficult to accept that shortages of staff in crucial areas like social services could be fixed by improving the wages and conditions of the workforce, therefore making it an attractive career option. Simples.
Former health minister, Sajid Javid, has called for a Royal Commission into the future of the NHS, as he says governments cannot continue to pour money into a service that is providing such poor outcomes.
Read more: I never liked Ryan Tubridy, nor ridiculous salaries for TV 'talent'
Read more:What is the Orange Order?
Read more: NHS 75th birthday milestone highlights urgent need to reform health and social care
It’s hard not to suspect he and his chums would prefer an insurance-based scheme, as there is something about 'free at the point of delivery' that brings Tories out in a rash.
He claims Labour politicians are also dubious about the funding model, but are too scared to say it out loud. He might be right with this current crop, who seem to be so intent on proving they aren’t Jeremy Corbyn that they fail to recognise he had some good ideas too. Re-nationalising the railways was another one.
****
Sometimes you wonder if the DUP is in fact an elaborate fake, or some sort of parody outfit, designed to make people here think Northern Ireland is a lost cause, so it is time for joint authority or Irish unity.
The thought came to mind again when a News Letter headline said: “Drumcree parade dispute at the heart of how NI moves forward.”
This nugget of wisdom came from MP Carla Lockhart who thought the parade, which has been banned for the past 25 years, was so important she tabled an Early Day Motion at Westminster.
For the uninitiated, there are usually around 1,200 EDMs tabled by MPs, and only a few are ever debated. They’ve been labelled as acts of “political narcissism” for MPs to get publicity for personal hobby horses. There was even an Early Day Motion to scrap Early Day Motions, but it didn’t succeed.
But they do attract media interest – well, in the News Letter anyhow.
You might be forgiven for thinking that Drumcree and the violence and hatred it provoked would be best left in the past, but then the Orange Order and the DUP prefer living there. They’re still talking about 1690 after all.
****
Einstein is credited with saying, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results". Has anyone told Benjamin Netanyahu?
There is no alternative to a two-state solution for the region, as endless peace talks have concluded. Yet successive Israeli regimes insist on “dealing with terrorists” by using their military might to crush sporadic Palestinian violence.
This tactic will never bring security for Israel. Instead it has created generation after generation of angry and dispossessed Palestinians, who see no political future. The Israelis invaded the Jenin refugee camp 21 years ago, leaving more than 50 Palestinians and 23 Israelis dead. It achieved nothing then, nor will it now.
