NHS at 75: SNP and Conservative policy of managed decline is a shocking betrayal of health service staff and patients alike. It cannot continue – Scotsman comment

Politicians of all parties need to once again show the unity that helped create the NHS

From its birth, 75 years ago today, the National Health Service has enjoyed strong support across the political spectrum. It was based on a 1942 report by Liberal politician William Beveridge; as Prime Minister in 1944, Winston Churchill, who coined the phrase “from the cradle to the grave” in reference to national insurance, committed to establishing a health service available to all, regardless of their means; and then on July 5, 1948, Clement Attlee’s Labour government actually brought the NHS into being.

In the years since, it has looked after patients extraordinarily well and, as a result, become a much-loved institution. There are countless stories of lives saved, babies born and pain relieved. When Covid struck, its staff put their lives at risk to save others, showing a dedication to duty that has earned them abiding respect. No other organisation has made such a difference to so many people as the NHS.

And yet today it is in crisis. Health service staff are struggling to cope with the demands being placed upon them, resulting in burnout, mental health problems and, sometimes, suicide.

The current situation cannot continue. Therefore, politicians of all parties need to once again show the unity that helped create the NHS. And the people of this country must decide whether they are prepared to pay for the quality of service that once saw the UK’s health service ranked as the best in the world, or whether high-quality, taxpayer-funded healthcare must now be replaced by a different system.

Currently, the policy adopted by both the Conservative and SNP-Green governments is one of drift and managed decline. For patients, that means increasingly long waits for treatment, while those who can afford it go private; for over-worked NHS staff, forced to take on the workloads of others as vacancies are left unfilled, it means the pressure will continue to ramp up until a breaking point is reached.

This is unfair, untenable and a shocking betrayal of their goodwill. It’s time to have a serious conversation about how to save the NHS or to face up to the consequences of failing to do so.