Happy birthday NHS: Battered but not beaten

Today the NHS turns 65. My family have been working for the NHS since the very beginning - my grandparents met as nurses in a psychiatric hospital in the NHS's infancy in the late 40s. 65 years on, my mum is coming up to retirement after over 40 years service as a nurse and midwife, and I am soon to qualify as a children's nurse. People often tell me it must run in the blood, to have three generations working as nurses, but one of the reasons I chose to go into nursing is that I know from my mum and her parents that despite all the downsides - long hours, low pay, budget cuts - all three of them had long and fulfilling careers doing jobs that they loved and were good at.

On a personal level, having been a type 1 diabetic for almost 11 years, the NHS saves me on a daily basis. I don't have to worry about the costs of my life-saving medications, or going without so I can pay my rent or put food on the table. It sounds so simple but in many countries of the world, this just isn't true. Even in the USA, there are people with life-threatening conditions like diabetes going without insulin or blood glucose testing equipment just to make ends meet. I'm also an incredibly clumsy human being, a trait I have in common with my three siblings. Between us we have racked up a huge number of visits to A&E, broken limbs, head injuries, you name it. Not once have my family had to consider whether we could afford to go and get that wrist x-rayed or that wound dressed. We take it for granted. When my brother was a child and had severe asthma, the NHS was there. When my mum had appendicitis, the NHS was there. When my granny fell and broke her hip, the NHS was there. I could go on. Every person and family in this country owes a debt of gratitude to the NHS, and I honestly believe that we as a nation don't take the time to think about what a wonderful institution it is - healthcare for all, regardless of wealth, gender, age, race or any other factors. 

In recent years, the NHS has come under a lot of pressure to improve, with some legitimate criticism: after all, after 65 years we can't expect it to work in the same way as it did when so much about our society and lives has changed. But the changes that are happening now are moving the NHS away from it's roots not for the benefit of patients, but for one goal only: to make money. The NHS is being dismantled bit by bit and sold off to the highest bidder, with no regard to it's original aims and the good it has done for so many. And after years of austerity, the British public are too tired and worn down to object. The NHS is like so many of us - it has it's flaws, and sometimes it struggles to carry on under the huge load it is bearing. But like us, the NHS may be battered but it is not beaten. As Nye Bevan so prophetically put it all those years ago: "The NHS will last as long as there are folk left with the faith to fight for it." That fight is now upon us, and the only question is whether we as a nation still have that faith to stand and defend it.

Liebster Love

Thanks the the lovely Hannah of the oldjawjaw, who gave me a Liebster award for small bloggers (hurrah!) and apologies for uselessness in taking quite so long to pass it on. The rules: post the award logos, answer the short questionnaire, and pass it along to two other bloggers (who must have fewer than 200 followers). Let's have a go then.


1. Favourite book? I love books. Pretty much all books. If I have to narrow it down, Goodnight Mr Tom was my favourite childhood book, and I have extreme love for Whistling for the Elephants by Sandi Toksvig and The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. I'm going to be very restrained and stop there.

2. Do you read real books or ebooks? Almost exclusively real books, and whilst I'd like to say it's for noble arty reasons, the truth is I am a broke student and cannot afford a Kindle or similar, and I don't like travelling with my laptop because that's how broke the last one (too many train journeys). Also: large and heavy. Happily, cheap paperbacks in charity shops are my friends.

3. Which art form offers you the truest expression for yourself? I don't feel any of them do to be honest. Probably writing comes closest. But with writing as well as making music, arts and crafts, etc etc, I am constantly frustrated that I can't express myself as well as I would like to. I probably express myself best with my large gob.

4. Favourite genre? I love a good historical drama, even better if it has a bit of romance and a bit of crime thrown in. I blame my mother. But, as above, I will literally read anything.

5. What makes you laugh? Depending on my mood, dark twisted humour or absolutely ridiculous slapstick.

6. What makes you cry? Ooh now I'm a bit of a toughie for crying. I have yet to find a film that makes me cry, and the books that do so are few and far between. Death does. So does too much alcohol when I'm not in a good place.

7. What is the one thing you can't do that you'd love to be able to do? Pee standing up. 

8. If you were given an opportunity to spend one more day with a friend or family member who has passed away, what would you do? I would go to Burnbake with Maisie, sit around the campfire, sing all the old songs, tell her I love her and sláinte over G&Ts one last time.

9. Do you write? I write all the time. Good, bad, indifferent, fiction, non-fiction. Doesn't matter as long as it's coming out on the page.

Pass it along:

Numero uno: a delightful new discovery in Carrie at carriecreatesconfidently, who writes some of the most beautiful poetry I have read in a long time. I went to uni with this marvellous lady, and was previously unaware of her mad poetic skillz. Read it, you won't regret it.

And secondly, Katie at size1614stone. She is eccentric and lovely and writes about a fantastic combination of feminist issues and fashion frippery. I love it and her, and the two of us must go for cocktails again soon.

So there you have it! Hope you all vastly enjoyed that, and I promise I will get better at more frequent blog posts. This nursing lark doesn't half take up a lot of time...

I am the 1 in 4

I am one of the 25% of people who suffer from a mental health problem. It seems like a shockingly high number doesn’t it? When statistics come out for other illnesses such as cancer or type 2 diabetes, no-one bats an eyelid, because we all know someone who has been affected by these. Often, someone among our nearest and dearest. But mental health problems? For many, they are things that happen to other people. There is still such a stigma in our society that people don’t feel comfortable talking about their mental health. Look around at your friends, family, neighbours, colleagues. On average, 1 in 4 will have or have had some issue with their mental health, but we never hear about most of them because people are too ashamed or embarrassed to “come out” as mentally ill.

I have struggled with severe depression on and off for over four years. Within that period there have been good times, and there have been bad times. I honestly don’t think I would still be here today without the support of the people around me. And yet, most people I know have no idea I am depressed, and I wouldn’t dream of talking to them about it. For the sake of contrast, I am also a type 1 diabetic. My family all know this, my friends all know this, and many colleagues and acquaintances do too. I am very open with my diabetes, and happy to talk about it. So why the difference? These are both long term, chronic conditions that affect my everyday life. The fact is that I don’t fear judgement for my diabetes. When I tell people I am depressed, I worry that they are thinking I am weak or pathetic. That I am using it as an excuse. Even that I am a danger to myself. I worry that people will look at me and treat me differently. That blossoming friendships or relationships may flounder because I have too much emotional baggage. And the saddest part is that these are not just paranoid concerns. These are real reactions that I have had from real people.

So why I am I putting this out there for the whole internet to read if I am so scared of how people will react? Because this is not how it should be. I don’t believe that people that react this way are bad people, or are trying to hurt me. A lot of people simply don’t how to respond because it’s a new experience for them. They are wary, thanks to media portrayals of those with a mental illness as either dangerous, pathetic, or trying to beat the system. They are scared of the unknown. It doesn’t have to be this way. People need to know about mental illness, how to talk about it, and how to support those affected. We can change and save lives. It’s Time to Talk.

http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/