A couple of months ago, I met the health secretary in a motorway services off the A3. Actually, to say I met him is somewhat of an overstatement. He was in the queue in front of me at a Starbucks, and after much debate and silent gesticulating, his identity was only confirmed when a barista yelled ‘latte for Jeremy!’ at the top of her voice.
There was much I wanted to ask Mr. Hunt. I wanted to challenge him about his plans for the future of the NHS, and tell him that I didn’t believe he cared about those who A work in this fantastic organisation.
I have to admit, I bottled it. I told myself at the time that it was because he was with his family, and I didn’t want to intrude, but it was worse than that. There was still part of me that wanted to believe that he was an intrinsically decent human being, and that some part of him still cared about the NHS and its staff.
Following the well-publicised activity of Mr. Hunt over the previous week, it has become obvious that I gave him far more credit than he deserves.
Responses in the press and on social media to Mr. Hunt’s attack on hospital consultants have been swift, and largely unanimous. Many have highlighted the lack of respect towards staff that sacrifice so much to care for the sick, whereas others have focused upon the financial ramifications of the government’s reported plans to rebrand the classification of ‘out of hours care’. Some of these articles have been beautifully written, well thought out, and truly inspiring. They’ve made me proud to work for the NHS.
Nowadays it seems that no outpouring of outrage or combined solidarity is complete these days without the obligatory Twitter hashtag. Whereas it’s been entertaining to see pictures of colleagues and friends working on the wards via the medium of #iminworkjeremy, I hope that this attempt at gallows humour doesn’t distract from the gravity of the situation. It seems ridiculous that we should have to emphasise the fact that health care professionals work weekends, as though this is something out of the ordinary.
We must continue to object in the strongest possible terms to the unprovoked attack on hospital consultants, a move clearly made to attract the greatest degree of public support. Attacking those in perceived positions of privilege is well-used tactic by politicians. The health secretary has made no mention of the fact that most in the NHS agree that the development of a seven-day service is a necessary step.
As many before me have correctly pointed out, the presence of consultants in hospital at the weekend will not back a shred of difference unless every other group of professionals, from porters to radiographers, are also in the hospital.
I do feel sorry for patients at the weekend; it can be a lonely and frustrating 48 hours without any new information, and no progression in their treatment. I’ve worked weekend on-calls and been desperate to check-in on my regular ward patients, only to find that the sheer weight of workload renders this completely out of the question.
If Mr Hunt is truly determined to instigate an effective 7-day service, rather than just provide headline grabbing sound bites, alienating the very people who could help him establish it is an act of pure stupidity. I fear he’s more interested in saving money than in optimising patient care.
The next time I’m in a coffee shop, or a motorway service station, I’ll look out for Mr Hunt. If I am ever unfortunate enough to run into him again, I promise I won’t miss the chance to give him a piece of my mind.
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