Our Care In Your Hands

BRIGHTEVERYDAY NHS Our Care In Your Hands

The tragic reality of the devastation of Cororavirus is clearer today, with the revised figures given at last, by the Government, for the total number of deaths in England and Wales. Shocking as they are, equally shocking, has been the time it has taken to publish the total figures accurately and promptly. When there was modelling for so many other scenarios and predicted outcomes, surely there was adequate information to collate, count and report, even if there were caveats. Why did the figures always seem so inaccurate and distorted? In times of uncertainty, fear and crisis affecting the whole country, integrity and truth is the language of communication, and pronouncement. If the public feel those in authority are “always behind the eight ball”, not only does it blight public confidence, but asks questions of responsive governance.

It is important to move the agenda on swiftly. In the light of the devastating numbers of deaths in nursing homes, high infection rates, staff shortages, PPE supply issues, testing and other reported issues, radical thinking and solutions are urgent. The scale of the problem is immense in social care and care for the elderly in homes. It should not be the responsibility of Local Councils to administer and fund health care in the community, rather it demands a consolidated, centralised, approach by Government. The simple solution is to fully fund and integrate it under state control and ownership. Surely this is a deserving and poignant strategy in such desperate times. Numbers have increased in care homes substantially with an ageing population, and with that, a growing list of requirements in the diversity and delivery of care. There is no cause more deserving, and, respect and care is a responsibility we should all share and be proud of. One would hope that, at a time of national crisis and concern, such an initiative is adopted collectively in the Four Nations of the United Kingdom, one so worthy of integration and unity.

Covid-19 or other virus strains may be a permanent feature of modern living and we should therefore be prepared in all areas of health care. It makes absolute sense to provide Care for the Elderly and fund it centrally and equitably within the NHS. Under-funding and politicising such a vital institution is a national disgrace and should be confined to history. The project would fashion a new dynamic and reinforce pride and respect in our excellent National Health Service. It would create employment nationally, respect the lives and memory of all those who committed so much to saving lives in the Pandemic, and at last ensure dignity, quality of life, and care, in all our residential care homes.

A strong and direct message from the electorate would compel any Government to enshrine such a public-spirited scheme immediately in legislation; a single provider and body of Care for All in the United Kingdom under the National Health Service. It would indeed give comfort and security to families and our elderly alike and be an esteemed part of our altruistic and vaunted “One Nation”. Our care is in your hands!