De Pop a Lula and the future of the NHS - Harry's Tale

I was once famous for not being able to pass a charity shop without going in to browse; I felt there might always be something I needed; top of this list were chickens. Many of the chickens in our world-record breaking chicken collection came from charity shops and car boots. Likewise, in a previous life, I collected books and at one time had a huge library, created by books mainly bought from charity and second hand book shops. These days my book collection is a great deal more modest.

The other thing to be found in charity shops at the time were clothes. During my pre current ‘black only’ period, I would scour charity shops for the most colourful clothes I could find. My adolescence coincided with the tail end of the hippy era, and I revelled in creating the most extravagant and eccentric outfits as possible. These days there are plenty of other ways to feed your inner Vivienne Westwood. Last week I read about the MIND shop in Soho, London. It appears to sell a great collection of second-hand designer label clothes. For example, there was a chic Sies Marjan yellow jacket priced at £195, and a leather skirt by Chanel at a mere £495. It’s not a charity shop for those having to choose between ‘heat or eat’ that’s for sure. And then there are the ‘circular fashion’ folk.

I acquired one of these when J and I got together, and no, it’s not J but one of her daughters, affectionally nicknamed Lucifer. She has a tiny wardrobe in her bedroom, but barely ever wears the same outfit twice when going out-out. She recirculates her clothes by reselling them through online fashion sites such as Depop, Facebook Marketplace, Vinted, Etsy, and even the ubiquitous Ebay. As well as always looking like a super model, she does very well out of it. When she lived with us, I was forever taking in parcels or taking parcels to the post office.

Of course, it wasn’t always like this. I was reminded last week of a time, over 55 years ago now, where I and other Boy Scouts took a bright green hand cart to collect people’s unwanted clothes to sell at jumble sales. I’m not even sure if we still have jumble sales. I can remember the cart having wooden wheels, with iron rims, wheels that were taller than me. Although I can’t remember precisely how old I was, I must have only been 11 or 12 years old. The world was a very different place then.

These memories were prompted courtesy of one Harry Leslie Smith. Last week, I listened to a speech he made at a Labour Party Conference in 2014. His memories go back further than mine. He talked about what life was like for him growing up in poverty, and in a time where there wasn’t any universal health care. You can listen to his speech here. It is just over 7 minutes long. You might want to have a box of tissues handy.

In sharing his speech I’m not trying to make any political points. Hearing it last week, I reflected what a wonderful institution the NHS is and all those folk who work within it are too. Yes, the NHS is under enormous strain at present, and it will be some time before that pressure eases. Yes, problems in social care are exacerbating the problems in health care. Yes, our politicians could probably do a lot more to deal with the issues resulting in today’s pressures. And yes, we can all do more to try and keep ourselves healthy and well. All that said, and against some very challenging and unremitting problems, our NHS is still delivering care to those who need it most. Sadly, not everyone is currently able to access that care appropriately and at the right time. Just as in Harry’s tale, people have died who perhaps might have been saved had our NHS been running more effectively. The growing numbers of avoidable deaths is unacceptable, and speaking out about this is not shroud waving, but speaking truth to power.

However, this blog is not about blame, although like others, I’m sure I could write a blog that sketched out a root cause analysis of what has led us to this point in time. No, it is in part, to acknowledge the good work that is still going on. Each day health care services are being delivered in primary care, communities, in mental health services and acute hospitals, and continue to be provided to many people. I was able to talk to some of my colleagues working in our acute hospital last week. I heard there was a huge recognition of the pressures everyone was under, particularly colleagues in the emergency department. But I also heard about the resolve to carry on, to do what can be done as we work through these challenging times. The next couple of months won’t be easy for patients, colleagues or the communities we serve. It could be a great deal worse, however. Look at what is happening in China or what is being considered in Wales for example.

Listening to Harry’s tale made me even more determined to do all I can to protect the NHS and find ways to ensure it flourishes and is eventually restored to being a truly world-beating, free at the point of service, national health service we all cherish. This won’t be easy. We need to look after our NHS folk more attentively, be courageous in our thinking over how we might transform services, and we need to keep ensuring that the people we care for are at the heart of all we do. We need to look back at Harry’s world, reflect on what has been achieved since then, protect what we have today, but look forward to building a better future for us all.