Recently, I have worked at a paid intern at Thorpewood Medical Practice in Thorpe St. Andrew in Norwich.
The experience has been insightful; because I have been working alongside the admin team, partners and managers to see what goes on behind the scenes at the NHS.
I can say that I have been amazed by what patients really do think about the NHS, because I constantly hear people berate and see them take for granted a service that people from different nations around the world dream of having.
The main concern for the NHS is that real terms funding has been cut and patient demand has increased. While this is a problem, the committed professional charged with managing and delivering services have been able to keep the NHS afloat such that healthcare has been kept from falling into a state of stagnation.
This was going to be inevitable since the UK has an aging population, due to population growth and advances in medical science. From 2004 to 2014, the UK population rose from 60 million to 64 million, with the number of people living above 65 increased from 640,000 people in 2010, to 800,000 in 2012. (The Independent).
Jeremy Hunt who was the Health Secretary from 2012 to July 2018, has been a controversial figure, due to his policies, including the 2015 doctor’s contract which led to junior doctor strikes. While this took place, the number of reported deaths did not increase.
Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt
While the NHS is not perfect, I feel that the criticism that it receives, is very unjust.
Think of this like a case study…
Over 350 million appointments were made last year, in England, while there are just around 1.4 million people employed to the NHS.
This shows that the NHS is arguably the most important system in place at the moment in England.
The Figure above shows how GP practices are rated over Norfolk and England. As you can see, only 2% of all GPs practices have been adjudged to be “inadequate”. This was in 2017, where there were just fewer than 7000 GP practices, where there are around 7400 in total in England.
??!!
Thorpewood Medical Group recently achieved an outstanding rating from the Care Quality Commission, the body appointed by government to assess service standards. The practice takes pride that it has been recognised as a beacon of exemplary practice.
Differential ratings from the CQC indicates that a perception that some GP practices are providing a good service for patients across the country.
The individual experience of patients will be influenced by the nature and urgency of the problem, the availability of resource and the professionalism and attire of the professionals encountered. From my experience of observing the goings on at the coal face I can conclude that even in the midst of severe pressures that the NHS offers an excellent service.
You must be logged in to post a comment.