IS ALL news bad news? Unfortunately, one glance at the British press would seem to offer an all-round affirmative. Whether it is global climate chaos (again), antisocial behaviour spiralling out of control or the latest z-list celebrity’s yo-yoing drug habits, it is fair to say that the swirling mass of hyped-up hysteria that constitutes today’s media ‘overflow-eth with bad tidings’.
And who is the prime scapegoat for vicious media attacks but our very own NHS? Rarely is a good word printed, broadcast or even just spoken about the poor old NHS. Perpetually bombarded with governmental reforms, budget revisions and health campaigns, the old girl has been left haggard and worn-out; unable to satisfy the insatiable hunger of the British public.
Is anyone else feeling as though they have had enough of bad news? Feeling as though they have heard enough tales of dirty wards, dilapidated hospitals and swarms of superbugs? Is there anything good to be said about Britain’s publicly-funded prodigy?
Well, yes. I think so. I may be in the minority, but I feel the NHS does rightfully deserve to be deemed Labour’s ‘proudest achievement’. Having myself been victim of a badly-timed coffee spillage, I have spent several weeks in the care of our home-grown health service. Although not a particularly pleasant prospect, the experience was, surprisingly, one of the most uplifting of my time.
It is often said that on admittance to hospital, one leaves their dignity at the door and (usually) picks it up again on their way out; and it was with this burning thought in my mind that I reluctantly placed myself wholly in the hands of NHS staff. There is no feeling that can quite match that sense of sheer helplessness, magnified by recollections of recent NHS misdemeanours. Yet the outstandingly high standard of professional care from the NHS staff, nurses in particular, more than compensated for my misgivings and quelled that deep sense of vulnerability inextricably linked with those unfortunate enough to end up on the couch.
Although often deemed insignificant, nursing has existed for hundreds of years, in hundreds of cultures. Regardless of its various guises and definitions, the main practice of nursing has by and large remained constant; and I can wholeheartedly testify that fundamental nursing principles of collaborative and autonomous care continue to be upheld.
You may remember the early 2007 NHS fiasco, in which nurses in England were denied a 2.5% pay rise. The overwhelming uptake on industrial action (95% of the Royal College of Nursing voted for it) posed a very worrying and very real threat of a nursing strike. However, the very absence of a strike is telling in itself. Regardless of what the RCN wanted, the idea of neglecting patients was anathema to them, and although cheated of a much needed pay rise, nursing principles were maintained and patient wellbeing came first.
Hats off to nurses. Underpaid, stressed and often discriminated against, today’s Florence Nightingales are the pillars of the health service. OK, so Dr Big Guns comes and gives the diagnosis, and yes, without Consultant Physician Plastics Geriatrics MA PhD BSc we would all be screwed, but who is it that clears up the mess? Who does the dressings? Who dishes out the dinner? Who provides a shoulder when it all becomes that little bit too much? The nurses. Maybe my glasses are too heavily rose-tinted. Maybe the hospital in question was one exception in hundreds of shoddy governmental establishments.
Yet I still believe that we should stop criticizing and complaining about the NHS and the role of the nurse in particular. In a world teeming with negativity, it is up to us to start appreciating the small things; time for us to take a look at those who’s good work is often forgotten, and be joyful of the fact that, albeit rare, there is some good news.
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