Well, here we are, then: new year – same old NHS flu crisis.
And Yr Obdt Srvt is a victim of this disease. I was up all last night coughing and I’m currently wrapped up in my trusty oodie, under a blanket, with a hot water bottle.
I am not in hospital – and therefore not contributing to the additional strain on the NHS that the latest flu crisis has generated.
I’d like to say I feel glad about that – but it would be a lie because, like any sane UK citizen, I think that the NHS should be capable of taking the strain; the only reason it struggles is the greed of private health profiteers and the complicity of politicians.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
Some of us thought the situation would magically change with a new government but Labour has taken over from the Tories and here we are.
“Meet the new boss – same as the old boss”? Not quite. It takes a long time to reverse the harm of (at least!) 15 years. But it is also true that Labour has as much interest in using private healthcare as the Tories did. Good for some people’s bank balances! Not so good for public health.
And it seems flu has arrived earlier this year and has overtaken more people because fewer in vulnerable categories have taken up the offer of vaccination – only about one-third. I wonder how many of them were put off by anti-vaccination propaganda?
The figures are here.
Particularly noteworthy – I think – are the words of Dr Adrian Boyle, head of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, who told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that ambulances are frequently stuck outside emergency departments, and emergency departments are full.
There is a chronic lack of beds – and those beds aren’t used properly because “we haven’t reformed social care”.
He picked the perfect day to say that because Health Secretary Wes Streeting has just admitted that Labour won’t even have proposals to reform social care until 2028. Those beds are going to stay blocked for another three years after this.
What a mess. And no – it doesn’t help that it was a mess the Tories caused.
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Cruel Britannia is available
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Health Warning: Government! is now available
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The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
New year – same old NHS flu crisis
Well, here we are, then: new year – same old NHS flu crisis.
And Yr Obdt Srvt is a victim of this disease. I was up all last night coughing and I’m currently wrapped up in my trusty oodie, under a blanket, with a hot water bottle.
I am not in hospital – and therefore not contributing to the additional strain on the NHS that the latest flu crisis has generated.
I’d like to say I feel glad about that – but it would be a lie because, like any sane UK citizen, I think that the NHS should be capable of taking the strain; the only reason it struggles is the greed of private health profiteers and the complicity of politicians.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
Some of us thought the situation would magically change with a new government but Labour has taken over from the Tories and here we are.
“Meet the new boss – same as the old boss”? Not quite. It takes a long time to reverse the harm of (at least!) 15 years. But it is also true that Labour has as much interest in using private healthcare as the Tories did. Good for some people’s bank balances! Not so good for public health.
And it seems flu has arrived earlier this year and has overtaken more people because fewer in vulnerable categories have taken up the offer of vaccination – only about one-third. I wonder how many of them were put off by anti-vaccination propaganda?
The figures are here.
Particularly noteworthy – I think – are the words of Dr Adrian Boyle, head of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, who told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that ambulances are frequently stuck outside emergency departments, and emergency departments are full.
There is a chronic lack of beds – and those beds aren’t used properly because “we haven’t reformed social care”.
He picked the perfect day to say that because Health Secretary Wes Streeting has just admitted that Labour won’t even have proposals to reform social care until 2028. Those beds are going to stay blocked for another three years after this.
What a mess. And no – it doesn’t help that it was a mess the Tories caused.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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