When you're not sure if it's a bit of a dog or a person and you conclude it's a chicken leg - and there are NO chickens in this jigsaw - it's probably time to take a break from jigsaw doing.
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I had a letter from my dentist last week cancelling my check-up in March. I phoned to make a new appointment and the receptionist said they're not doing routine check-ups for the time being. They will let me know when they start again.
Unspoken are the words, 'or if'.
It's really hard to get an NHS dentist as so many have gone private, and now, with the added pressure of Covid-related sickness plus the need for more frequent thorough cleansing, their time is limited so they have to cut out something. (Did I write this before?)
It's a minor inconvenience I suppose. In an emergency or if I have toothache I'll be able to see a dentist eventually, but it's all symptomatic of the pressure on the NHS and the cunning ploy to get us all grumbling, and so be happy to see the government sell off the NHS to the highest bidder. #SavetheNHS
When I spoke to the receptionist she seemed wary as if waiting for me to complain and get stroppy as I've no doubt some patients will. But the blame shouldn't be on them.
Nye Bevan was a miner from the Welsh valleys who went on to become an MP and then Minister for Health and Housing. It was his passion and determination that saw the founding, after numerous battles with different groups, of the National Health Service in 1948, giving free health care to all.
But it turned out to be a lot more expensive than had been anticipated, and, in 1951, the Labour government voted to bring in charges for dental treatment, spectacles, and prescriptions. Opposing his own government Nye Bevan referenced Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus, saying, "The health service will be like Lavinia – all the limbs cut off and eventually her tongue cut out too.”
We cannot let that happen!
(Oo-er, I'm getting a bit carried away here. Then again so I should. The NHS is precious and vital.)
5 comments:
Our Canadian universal healthcare system does not cover dental, optometry or prescriptions. It was established in the 1960s so undoubtedly followed your later NHS model. Those who can afford it (or who have benefits through work) get private insurance to cover the exclusions.
Worse here where you must purchase insurance to get any coverage. The cost of healthcare is staggering.
Debra, the NHS subsidises necessary dental treatment - it's only completely free if you're on state benefits. Similarly with glasses. If you chose to have a designer frame you have to pay full price naturally. Prescriptions are free though.
It's scary to think about, Pam.
I remember the advent of the NHS as s young kid, mainly doctors grousing about it! They eventually learned to see the benefits to patients. But it's never been free. Nothing is. It's tax paid, but I never minded paying the tax back when I still lived in England, because I had memories of fearing the cost of seeing a doctor.
Yes, you're right, Boud, it's paid for from taxes, from those who afford it.
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