NHS at 70.

Happy birthday to the NHS - 70 years old today. I’ve worked in it for 35 years , 31 of them as a GP. Delivering free cradle to grave care the service is the envy of many countries in the world. That’s not to say it’s perfect : a lack of financial investment and staff coupled with increased demand and an ageing population means the service is under severe strain. My diagnosis is that the NHS will not survive to see 100 in its current state.
Working in primary and community care it’s always disappointing to see the media and our politicians concentrating today exclusively on hospital services - despite us doing 90% of the work. A bigger emphasis on prevention , self help, and tackling social inequality is badly needed - themes successive governments enjoy talking about without making any real changes.