• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • FAQ
  • Meet the Team
  • About The London Economic
  • Advertise
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
NEWSLETTER
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion

Call me a pessimist, but I think it’s sad that we have to fundraise for the NHS

A national treasure has been reduced to a charitable organisation reliant on the goodwill of the people it serves.

Jack Peat by Jack Peat
April 16, 2020
in Opinion
credit:PA

credit:PA

After five weeks in isolation I will admit to feeling rather mentally fatigued by the ongoing crisis and increasingly irked by our response to it.

While it is understandable that much government policy has been developed on the hoof and will require fine-tuning as we go, we left ourselves unnecessarily exposed in areas we once championed as bastions of British society – namely health and welfare, which are being stress tested to the max as a result.

In no area are these shortcomings more evident than in the National Health Service.

After years of chronic under-funding, pay freezes and equipment shortages we are finally waking up to the importance of a health care system that is free at the point of access and have newfound appreciation for all those who work within it.

RelatedPosts

Elevenses: Fears for Beers

Government’s race report failed to include the lived experiences of people of colour

Elevenses: My G-g-g-generation

Elevenses: A Year of Keir

But the moment we start to treat the NHS as a charity is the moment we relinquish the government of its duty to care for it, and that is a really sad thing.

Charitable efforts

The national response to the coronavirus crisis has been truly overwhelming.

I found it as heart-warming as the next man when the news broke that a 99-year-old veteran had managed to raise more than £12 million after walking 100 lengths of his garden.

Equally, I felt a fondness for Joe Wicks when he donated money from his YouTube PE sessions and for James McAvoy after he gave a crowdfunding campaign £275,000.

I have been tagged in a viral fundraising effort to run 5k and donate £5 to the NHS through, ironically, the same company that sued the NHS following a legal dispute in 2017, and I have been made aware of countless other initiatives that are making valiant efforts to support our health sector heroes. 

But charity, like most philanthropic efforts, often serves only as a plaster to cover exposed wounds. The NHS needs policy if it is to be truly cured.

The NHS needs policy, not charity

So it was with a degree of irony that I viewed Boris Johnson praising immigrant nurses who saved his life after he spearheaded a campaign characterised by hostility to such workers.

It wasn’t more than two months since Priti Patel unveiled her “immigration revolution” to “take back control of our borders”, a policy she quickly reversed when she realised how badly we need migrant workers.

I also viewed today’s announcement by Matt Hancock that care workers would be offered a “badge of honour” with a degree of disdain.

Give them protective equipment, a fair wage and the support they need to do their job yes, but a condescending badge; please.

It is all symptomatic of a government that has forgotten how to look after its own people. And I hate to say it, but our charitable efforts will do little to change that.

NHS Charities Together is providing a vital lifeline in place of government support. To find out more about their work, click here.

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Tags: headline
Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism
Please login to join discussion

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending fromTLE

  • All
  • trending

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

Stress, fear and homelessness: The threat looming over families confronted with eviction

File photo dated 07/11/03 of a prison cell.

The Other Prison Pandemic

Latest from TLE

National Lottery Lotto Results – Saturday 10 April 2021

Fireworks let off over Celtic Park during minute’s silence for Prince Philip

BBC inundated with complaints over wall-to-wall Prince Philip coverage

Flashback: To when Boris Johnson dismantled claims of a hard border in the Irish Sea

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: jack@thelondoneconomic.com

Commercial enquiries, please contact: advertise@thelondoneconomic.com

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech & Auto
  • About The London Economic
  • Meet the Team
  • Privacy policy

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.