Protect the NHS

I want to start this post by showing my gratitude to all the NHS staffs who are risking their lives by fighting on the frontline to save lives. Every single one of you are heroes. The NHS is the best thing about this country, and you all are great ambassador. You’re the reason why we must all fight and protect the NHS. I also want to say thank you to all essential workers who are keeping us fed and keeping this country running. Without you we would all be starving, and society would’ve collapsed.

Couple of months ago, before everything went mad, I wanted to write a post regarding ‘unskilled’ workers. Under Brexit Britain, the government laid out their plans of what they considered unskilled jobs. The term itself I have an issue with. No jobs are unskilled. It does not exist. Every job is skilled. If a job were to be unskilled, anyone without any prior knowledge and training would be able to do it, without inputting their own skills. However, the government decided this would be based on salary and like all things it came down to money.


It only took a month to see the incredibly stupid decision the government had made, since many jobs we are relying on today to fight Coronavirus, are deemed low-skilled by the government. Carers, nurses and paramedic who are saving lives are regarded as low-skilled. Laboratory technicians who are working to formulate a vaccine are low-skilled workers. Many involved in producing and supplying our food, from lorry drivers to grocery workers are considered low-skilled. All these people are important parts of our society. It is incredibly naïve to dump them all into one stupid category. On top of that, to stop help from EU nations, into these fields could and will have catastrophic impact on our country. If we did not have EU nurses still working for the NHS, we would be in an even more meltdown than what were already experiencing.

Immigrants working in the UK have become a key members of society in tackling Coronavirus. Many of these essential jobs have a considerable number of immigrants working. In the NHS, 13.3% of staff were considered as non-British. For almost a decade, immigrant workers all across the country have been abused and harassed. Now we look to them to save us. Without any hesitation, they have stood tall in protecting the same lives who were taking their rights away from them. Right now, in the coming months and years we have to fight for all of them.

Every Thursday we as a nation clap for our NHS staff. If we truly care for them we will go the extra mile. We must put pressure on the government to give them the correct PPE that they deserve. We say, “stay at home to protect the NHS”, but we’re sending them on a suicide mission. A bomb disposal team doesn’t deactivate a bomb without wearing the correct bomb suit. Then why are we sending doctors and nurses to fight the Coronavirus without correct PPE. We must also fight to get more test and ventilators. The NHS needs our help now more than ever. Clearly the journalists aren’t going to challenge the government, so it is down to me and you to make sure the NHS gets what it deserves.

Once all this is done, we need answers. Why were we not better prepared? Clearly the government got their preparation wrong. They started implementing regulations once it was too late. In hindsight, the government should’ve started much earlier. When was the correct time to start is up for debate. For me the bigger talking point comes in 2016. In 2016, a test was carried out on the NHS to see how effective the NHS will be in tackling a respiratory flu pandemic. Many of the problems we are seeing today were highlighted in that report. Lack of ventilators, intensive care beds and other equipment were all noted. Instead of acting on that report, it was squashed and hidden. Why was this report never acted upon? If the government knew the state in which the NHS is in, then why did it take so long for the government to act? Surely you would act as quickly as possible, knowing the frail state the NHS is in.

The fight to protect the NHS is a never ending one. With the dangers of privatisation at large, and the growing force of the right, it is essential the NHS gets our support. As Bernie is almost certainly not going to win the US election, it is certain that the US UK trade deal will be lead by a right winger, under Trump or Biden, and they will want a piece of that sweet NHS pie. But we will not give it to them. We all hold it close to our hearts. We are going to carry on fighting for all NHS staff, to make sure they get the rights they deserve. Nurses getting their pay rise. A working condition suitable for health workers. Reducing the pressures on junior doctors, so they may be able to progress in their careers. An NHS fit to serve us all.

Stay Home. Save Lives. Protect the NHS.

Aleha