The state of the health care system in Great Britain is turning into a political crisis

This is your “next world”.

To read the scenes described in the English press, It is hard to believe that we are talking about a modern and developed country.

Here, in the emergency department, a stroke patient has to sit in a chair and wait for 24 hours. There, in another hospital, there is a lack of oxygen. Patients spend days in trolleys.

No more vials for urine tests. They are made in cups for tea. Oh, my God !

The brutal reality of statistics confirms the sensation created by these anecdotes.

According to the Emergency Physicians Association, 300-500 people die each week as a result of the knock-on effect of staff shortages. 7 million transactions are waiting: 7 million!

1 in 5 patients treated in the emergency department take more than an hour to arrive at the hospital.

And the staff are at their wits end.

Last month, for the first time in a century

nurses went on strike. They are exhausted and receive a meager salary.

1 out of every 4 hospitals had to open a food bank for its employees. Nurses are demanding a 20% pay rise.

You will tell me that the hospital works badly in France too. That is right.

But knowing the two systems, I can tell you that the situation is worse in England.

300-500 deaths per week

Therefore, it is not surprising that it turned into a political crisis.

But power first adopted the ostrich strategy.

Denial: the government remained silent for three weeks as the situation continued to deteriorate. The Minister of Health did not open his mouth.

The only argument put forward: it’s cyclical, to blame for a combination of the flu epidemic, Covid rebounds and the easing of social distancing measures.

The British government’s second line of defense has so far been a hard line. We will not give up. There is no question of raising salaries. Fiscal balances are at risk.

Pharmacists and the army will be called in if manpower is lacking. As for the right to strike, why not restrict it further.

Finally the third axis, put all social conflicts in one bag.

It must be said that there is no shortage of holidays in the United Kingdom. This week railway workers, bus drivers, highway workers, driving school examinees.

Teachers next week, then nurses, and two weeks later nurses again. Maybe there will be medical interns as well.

And he found himself a minister to denounce the strikers as “playing Putin’s game by weakening the UK”. Hello amalgam!

All these are heavy cavalry and add fuel to the fire.

Rishi Sunak has been criticized for his “lack of subscribers” in recent days. And

the opposition called to wait for his return to the parliament scheduled for next Monday.

The ostrich and the politics of denial

So the Prime Minister decides to take the issue seriously!

Sunak, unlike her short-lived predecessor Liz Truss, has her eyes in front of holes. He feels the slope is slippery.

The Prime Minister knows that the issue of the NHS is more explosive than other social conflicts.

The British are very attached to the free public health system. Moreover, they support more than 60% of the nurses’ strike (less than 50% support for the railway workers).

So, Sunak decides to leave the forest. He promised to reduce waiting lists this afternoon. This is the first step. At least he admits there is a problem.

But honesty would be to accept that this NHS crisis is not a cyclical thing.

This is the result of 12 years of low public investmentAfter the Conservatives returned to power.**

There are 160,000 vacancies in British hospitals and Brexit has accelerated the exodus of medical staff.

The number of beds per population is 2 times less than in France and 3 times less than in Germany.

Only 7 of the 40 new hospitals promised by Boris Johnson are being built.

In short, the state of the NHS is the result of a political choice.

Being a conservative himself, Sunak is unlikely to admit this. He will not go with reasoning.

Therefore, there is a high risk that the situation will continue to deteriorate.

while

Polls continue to lead the opposition Labor Party by around 25 points, the implosion of the health care system may indeed be the nail in the coffin of a conservative power..