BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - The new British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has commented on a report he commissioned that found the UK's National Health Service (NHS) is in a deplorable condition. The report's findings echoed media investigations of the past which discovered unacceptably long waits for treatment, hospital structures that are crumbling, patients dying unnecessarily, patients on trolleys in hallways because no rooms were available, mental health patients occupying cells infested with vermin, and fewer MRI scanners than in countries of similar size.
Fixing the NHS, which has had widespread support across party lines since its creation in 1948, was a central theme in Starmer's campaign that brought Labour back to power. Starmer announced a 10-year plan to "fix" the system which will doubtless include more spending and probably even higher taxes.
Starmer has promised no new funding for the NHS without reforms. He mentioned three areas that need immediate attention: transition to a digital NHS, moving more care from hospitals to communities, and focusing efforts on prevention over sickness.
That last one - prevention over sickness - is key not only in the UK, but also the U.S. and everywhere else. For too long politicians have focused more on care rather than cures.
I am (barely) old enough to remember when President John F. Kennedy launched The President's Council on Physical Fitness, directed by the famous football player and coach Bud Wilkinson. Kennedy didn't have the authority to mandate a national exercise program, so he and Wilkinson sought to lead by example. They created a curriculum for public schools that supplemented Physical Education programs already in place. Beginning in the 1961-1962 school year, the Kennedy council began a national publicity campaign to promote its directives on fitness. These included the fifty-mile-hike-in-twenty-hour challenge, inspired by the Marine Corps, eating the right foods, and a number of memorable popular culture tie-ins. Cartoonist Charles Schulz contributed " Snoopy's Daily Dozen," an exercise manual featuring Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang.
Suddenly it was cool and fun to be fit.
Following up on Starmer's statement about prevention is something that should be a companion goal and that is curing diseases.
One example. Nearly 7 million American seniors are living with Alzheimer's dementia, according to the Alzheimer's Association. By 2050, this number is projected to rise to nearly 13 million. There are currently estimated to be nearly one million people living with dementia in the UK and this is projected to rise to 1.4 million in 2040.
A cure for this horrible and debilitating ailment would also create economic benefits, in addition to relief for patients, family members and caregivers. According to ScienceDirect.com: "Medicare and Medicaid would save up to a projected $195 billion annually." Life insurance companies and unpaid caregivers would also benefit.
I'm betting people in the UK and the U.S. would be willing to pay a little more in taxes if they could be sure reforms were forthcoming in their respective health care systems and the money was spent wisely. Cures might cost more upfront but the back-end savings in money and pain would be enormous and more than worth it.
The sooner Prime Minister Starmer's proposed reforms are fully known the quicker improvements might be made. In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration might ease some of its regulations that prevent drugs with promise from reaching the market sooner. Permission for drugs currently used for other purposes might be granted for people wishing to try them, assuming any risks.
If Starmer's reforms work, a new NHS could be the model for the world.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has frequently proposed "Medicare for all, a type of NHS for the U.S. If it isn't working here, what makes Sanders and his fellow advocates think it would work in a country with a population far larger than the UK?
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