In 2010 I was a web developer supporting a research project mapping childrens’ health services across the UK. It was funded by the then Department of Health. My academic colleagues were leaders in their field working on a project to help improve children’s health services.

The Conservative / Lib Dem coalition government, formed in May of that year, effectively shut the project down as part of the government’s austerity agenda. Before the team disbanded, my colleagues, with decades of experience working public health between them, expressed concern for the future of the NHS under the new administration. I think it was a concern now validated by the state of the NHS today; underfunded in real terms, understaffed, and with remaining staff stretched and exhausted. This was happening before the pandemic too.

In 2009, the NHS was recorded as achieving very high levels of patient satisfaction (source). So what we’ve seen over the last 11 years is an abrogation by our government to support the NHS, fund it properly and maintain these levels of satisfaction.

If you know someone who works in the NHS, ask them about it and they will likely tell you they and their colleagues are exhausted. We were clapping them every Thursday last year, but what they really need is a change of government.