On 5th July it will be exactly 75 years since the NHS was founded.  But there is no fanfare.  In fact the government would prefer it if news about the NHS disappeared completely from the public’s radar.

    Not only have junior doctors announced an unprecedented 5-day strike over their pay, starting 13 July, but NHS consultants just voted by 86% to strike on 20 and 21 July.  That this “class” of professionals has been pushed to the point of taking industrial action - just like the rest of us ordinary mortals - says it all!

    And then there’s the King’s Fund report, published this Monday, which compares NHS performance to that of health services in other similar wealthy countries.

    To quote: Britain has “below-average health spending per person compared to peer countries.  (. . . ) The UK lags behind other countries in its capital investment, and has substantially fewer key physical resources than many of its peers, including CT and MRI scanners and hospital beds. . .  has strikingly low levels of key clinical staff, including doctors and nurses, and is heavily reliant on foreign-trained staff.  Remuneration for some clinical staff groups also appears to be less competitive in the UK than in peer countries. . . ”

    Cancer outcomes in this country are among the worst.  Britain has just 3 doctors per 1,000 inhabitants, while one of the poorest European countries, Greece, manages to have more than double - 6. 3 per 1,000!  Yes it’s a report the government would like to bury.

    But never mind, says the Department of Health and Social Care, “we are among the most efficient”.  Sure.  Because their efficiency merely measures how little is spent per patient on treatment!

    So what about the “Workforce Plan” then?  This 15-year plan to double the workforce (a doubling needed right now!) is meant to be announced this week.  So why 15 years?  Do they hope that by the time 2038 arrives, the “plan” will be long forgotten, as we all face the latest crisis of their decrepit, fast-degenerating capitalism system?

    Indeed, there’s a reason why bad news comes so thick and fast these days.  As the Sex Pistols already sang in 1977, there is “no future” - that is, not unless the working class gets together and forces change on this society.  A good place to start would be for everyone to go on strike “for NHS workers” this coming July - including for nurses and paramedics, who felt obliged to call off their strikes, after being given a a real terms pay cut.  So, how about it?