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The Covid-19 pandemic has brought the beloved national institution known by its three-letter acronym even further to the center of British life. Chronically underfunded and stretched to its limits, even in normal times, the health service has never been under so much pressure. Nor has he received more praise, love and gratitude from the public.
“There is this enormous level of affection deeply rooted in and proud of the institution, and what we are seeing now is that affection is manifesting itself,” Dan Wellings, a senior member of the King’s Fund, a group of health care experts, told CNN .
It is difficult to determine the exact reason for this affect. “It is not about data or numbers and evidence, it is feelings and emotions and all the things that people cannot explain very well,” said Laura Duffell, a midwife at King’s College Hospital in London. Duffell works for the NHS and said “I wouldn’t work anywhere else.”
“It seems like you are part of a family in all the different hospitals and in all the different teams that I have worked on, the team spirit is always there.”
The government is taking advantage of these sentiments to reinforce its strict measures of social distancing. That message is clear: stay home, protect the NHS, save lives. The slogan is on every informational brochure the government has printed. Even on the lectern from which the country’s top officials, representing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is recovering from Covid-19, deliver their daily updates.
The NHS is not unique. Many other European countries have publicly funded health systems that provide free healthcare for all. But no one can claim the NHS’s level of appreciation.
The origin story
The NHS was founded in 1948 as part of a major national reconstruction effort after World War II. Since then, it has become an integral part of British society and the largest employer in the country.
It is in part its origin story that makes the NHS so important to many.
“There is a kind of popular memory … people wanted a really big change and the NHS was part of it,” John Appleby, director of research and chief economist at the Nuffield Trust group of health experts, told CNN.
Wellings added that the postwar sense of collectivism is still a big part of how people view the NHS. “There are some values attached to it that play a very important role in the British sense: Equity, available to everyone, is the same, is financed mainly through taxes and is free at the time of need.” The brand is also great. “It is very clear. The fact that it says ‘national,'” Wellings said.
The NHS, everyone agrees, is part of Britain’s national psyche.
The key tenet of service is simple: Health care must be free for everyone. Whether it’s a routine checkup, chemotherapy, or a hospital delivery, patients don’t need to worry about taking out their credit cards when they receive treatment. Some parts, including dentistry, eye care, and pharmacy, have been privatized over the years, but most of the service is public. Prescriptions are free, but most people pay a prescription fee of £ 9.15 ($ 11.45).
“Virtually everyone contributes to the NHS in some way, there is no special NHS tax, not only is it financed by income tax, it is financed by all taxes, so everyone is contributing something, and the deal is It doesn’t matter who you are, whether it’s the Queen or me, there is equal access to the things you need when you need them, and it’s decided not by your income but by your health care needs, “Appleby said.
Financing problems
After the 2008 financial collapse, government tax revenues have been affected, as have NHS funds. Health expert groups such as the King’s Fund say the NHS is now particularly vulnerable, as under previous conservative governments, its funding did not match the growing demand for medical care. That led to longer wait times, reduced availability and staff shortages, according to research by the expert group.
Many Britons are well aware of the pressures the NHS faces. When the call for volunteers arrived to help with the current crisis, almost 1 million people signed up. There has also been a large increase in donations to charities that support the NHS and its staff.
But not everyone is comfortable with the idea that the NHS should trust charity. “The response to these fundraising events is a bit divided, depending on one’s policy … if you are more left-wing, you feel there should be no doubt that this money should come from the central government … at the same time People want to help and they want to treasure the service and keep it running, especially in times of crisis, “said Flyn.
In the UK, the NHS seems sacred, and resistance to revising it significantly affects British society: Most people said they would pay more taxes if the NHS needed it, according to surveys.
As the grim reports of death and suffering arrive, day by day, many in the UK look to the future, hoping that the crisis will bring changes in the way the NHS and its staff are treated.
“But perhaps on the other side of the coronavirus it will give them, their unions, etc. enough ammunition to campaign for more money. I think there would be a lot of public support for that,” Flyn said.
Duffell, who is actively involved in the RCN, the nursing union, is less optimistic. “I would love to see the government invest in the National Health Service as much as it should, but I don’t think it will happen, I don’t see it changing, which is a great shame.”
