Margaret Thatcher retired from the House of Commons at
age 66. Many people used to retire at 65. The NHS is 66 on July 4. Rather than
retirement, a recent study by a prestigious American health body suggests the
opposite is the case. The report actually points to vitality, life and plenty
of work to do yet. The Commonwealth Fund is a non partisan and private health
foundation based in New York. Its mission is 'to promote a high-performing
health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater
efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable, including low-income
people, the uninsured, minority Americans, young children, and elderly adults.'
Its board includes key health experts such as James R Tallon. A report called
'Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, 2014 Update: How the U.S. Health Care System
Compares Internationally' makes some interesting points. It compares the USA
health system with 10 other health systems including our own. The other
countries are Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand,
Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. The really key point is that the study looked
at what really matters. Key elements such as access, health care quality,
equity, efficiency and key indicators of healthy lives (e.g. infant mortality)
were used. The result was that the best overall health ranking was......the
NHS. Switzerland and Sweden were second and third respectively. (http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2014/jun/mirror-mirror).
When we often
hear how bad things are in the NHS, this health specialist study says something
else. So how do we square the bad news we hear and the scholarly study done by
this Foundation? One doesn't have to be a genius to see that bad things happen
in good services. That things in a service may be wrong yet a service can be
right and good. This leads to the need for renewal and reform not ditching the
service. I hope if we found a dirty plate at home we would wash it, not smash
it. The study also suggests that there are powerful energies and practices in
the NHS that are working well. If there wasn't, how could it be rated the best
in overall health ranking?
The NHS is
where ordinary people do extraordinary things everyday. The NHS is a sign of
what a civilized nation looks like. It embodies the highest principles - social
care, social justice and social equality. It says that health should be based
on our need not our bank account. The NHS is ours - it belongs to the people.
This report says she is still delivering 66 years on. We know that she is what
her best practice and foundation express - great vision, values, care and
compassion. That's why so many of us are so proud of the NHS and so many of us
are humbled to be part of her service.
Happy birthday NHS - thanks for all you
do and have done for people.
John Walsh, York Street Practice
