NH YES.

The blogger had cause today to slide into a big tube, be filled with iodine and told to lay still occasionally breathing in and out. The procedure lasted 20 minutes and as the blogger lay there he pondered the scan and all its goings on.

In what country can you walk into a hospital albeit with an appointment and get first class professional service with contemporary facilities to measure your health and well being ? Today was good and as the blogger lay there he ran some numbers on this free at point of service this wonderful facility that keeps the Great in Britain. It is often criticised but on balance we are very fortunate to have the NHS and for those readers from the 34 nations that follow this blog, it’s the National Health Service, founded on the 5th July 1948.

The NHS costs around £190 billion a year to run equivalent to buying 6 Twitter companies per annum. There are 1.3 million people employed and it is the nation’s largest employer. Of that total cost nearly one third or £60 billion is attributable to salaries. That’s right £60 billion that is paid , taxed on by the Government and gets readily recycled into the economy to pay others and the wheel spins around. The cost per head of population is just under £3000 per annum , £60 per week per person less than it costs for a tank of petrol for the car. It’s great value for whenever you feel or are sick you can go get help. Over 830,000 daily call on their GP surgery that are based in every nook and cranny throughout the UK.

The UK Government income is about £800 billion per annum so effectively one quarter or 25% of that income is spent on keeping us fit and well. Some may abuse the system but in the main who wants to be or pretend to be sick ? During Covid 19 the people came out on Thursday evening to bang their pots and pans in appreciation of those at the NHS and though that has ceased the blogger for one is hitting the pan now with a big thanks and says Yes to the NHS.

Some pundits question whether we can continue to afford its luxury the blogger says we can’t afford not to. It is the hallmark of a caring society where we all look after each other and it is the ultimate in love thy neighbour and Good Samaritan. Every nation should aspire for caring for its people and being funded by the Government adds to our ultimate well being. When the blogger’s mother died he wrote to the then Prime Minister to thank the treatment given by the NHS and the Prime Minister wrote back to say it was the first and only letter of its kind that he had ever received.

As I came out of that tube the nurse smiled and said ‘ You’re done ‘ , what she quite meant I don’t know but off I went to write this blog and share with you my appreciation. We can always criticise and moan but occasionally we must be thankful for all that we have and value all that we work for. Stay healthy , keep well and keep eating those greens.