Over the past few days, the press in the USA have been suggesting the NHS is a sub standard service. I'd like to jump to the defence of an organisation that has served me well.
Now that I've had my last appointments, I think I'm finished with hospitals for a while, and I'm genuinely glad to see the back of them. I'm a big wimp, so the sight of people in white coats makes my blood pressure shoot up, although the standard of care I've received recently has been exemplary.
The good old NHS gets a lot of stick, but if we take a step back and see what we are blessed with, it really is outstanding. Mrs Gerbil and I were scooped off the road by a couple of paramedics who were at the scene of our accident within minutes. We've had multiple x-rays, scans and a quite complicated bit of surgery each. We didn't want for anything throughout our time in hospital, and the wards were clean, and staffed with genuinely caring people.
After surgery, we had good follow-up care including physiotherapy, more x-rays and more appointments with our surgeons to make sure everything was working fine. I've not had to pay for any of this, and I've not been left waiting for treatment. We were given a lucky bag full of some serious painkillers, which made the misery all the more bearable! In a couple of years, nobody will pay for prescriptions in Scotland either - I think they are free in Wales at the moment.
Folk might knock the NHS, and like any large organisation it will have its faults, but given the level of care I've had recently, I'm not going to defend it to the death. Preferably not my death!
Bottom line is, it's our NHS and its only us here in the UK that can discuss its minor faults. To those US "journalists" that know sod all about the UK, please get your facts in order. A bit of social healthcare never harmed anyone.
