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‘Anyone can use it – men, women and children. There are no age limits, and no fees to pay. You can use any part of it, or all of it, as you wish.’
These were the words printed on a leaflet in 1948, declaring the launch of a new National Health Service in the UK, the first system of its kind in the world.
Up until then, good quality healthcare was given only to those that could afford it – which is still the case for many countries across the globe today.
Today, July 5, 2023, marks the NHS’s 75th birthday – in that time, the service has helped reduce child mortality rates, made major breakthroughs in cancer treatment and transplant surgeries, and launched nation-wide vaccinations, saving the lives of millions.
It continues to face staffing, funding and capacity challenges – but many people across the country credit it for changing – or indeed, saving – their lives.
Mum-of-two Caroline Marshall, 35, is one of those people. She says she will be ‘forever grateful’ to the NHS for saving her baby son.
In December 2020, Caroline, who lives in London, gave birth to Jasper. He seemed perfectly healthy, but three hours later, everything changed.
‘He suffered a sudden unexpected postnatal collapse (SUPC),’ explains Caroline.
‘This meant that he went from a happy, feeding newborn to lifeless, floppy and blue in a matter of seconds.
‘We have been told it was likely due to an ‘infection’ – but likely, we will never know why.’
For the next 48 minutes medics worked to stabalise the tiny baby. He experienced hemorrhaging on the lungs, and CPR was performed.
‘He then spent 10 days unconscious, on a ventilator, morphine and steroids – as well as eight other drugs – whilst we prayed and waited,’ says Caroline.
‘As a parent with a child in the NICU you go through everything – processing if he would die, why, and if it was my fault as his mother who carried him.
‘I went through every possibility from Jasper being a ‘miracle’ who fully recovered, to him dying, to him needing round the clock care.’
But miraculously, Jasper pulled through. ‘Two registrars and an amazing neonatal and midwifery team is why Jasper is alive now,’ says Caroline.
Now two-years-old, Caroline’s son is thriving. ‘Since then he has defied all expectations,’ she says.
‘He has hit all the expected milestones and is very cheeky. His favourite things are swimming, Alan (the cat), his brother and food, probably in that order!’
Despite putting their ordeal behind them, Caroline will be forever grateful to the NHS.
She says: ‘We are lucky. At no financial cost for us, because of the amazing service that is the NHS, and the amazing people who work for it, our son was saved that night.’
The NHS also stepped in for Emma Thomson when she was a child. Emma, now 33, was just 10-years-old when her parents noticed so was walking over on her left foot, and took her to the GP.
Emma says: ‘I was getting pains in my foot and ankle that were getting worse and worse. The pain became excruciating, to the point where I couldn’t even stand for longer than five minutes. It never stopped and nothing got rid of it, not even pain killers.’
After a year, she was finally diagnosed with osteomyelitis, an infection that causes pain in the long bones in the legs.
Emma says: ‘I was one of the first cases to have it in the UK. It’s extremely hard to get rid of, if ever.
‘Medics discussed cutting the bone away at first, and even amputation.
‘I ended up needing two operations in total to cut the infected bone away. I went down to five and a half stone in weight as the infection affected my appetite and I became extremely thin, pale and anemic.’
But Emma says that, even as a child, she remembers always feeling like she was in safe hands.
She says: ‘The staff were always really lovely and understanding and my consultants, Mr Ahmed and Dr Iwigbu, were amazing.’
Now, Emma is 33-years-old, and has been healthy ever since. She adds: ‘The NHS as a whole is full of people who want to provide care and are caring people.’
For other patients, illness turned life upside down a little later in life.
Sbba Siddique, 54, began experiencing bloating and weight gain in October 2021.
The mum-of-three, from Slough, didn’t think much of her symptoms until a dermatologist noticed her swollen stomach, and told her to get it checked out.
Sbba explains that she went to the GP, and was eventually referred for an CT scan, MRI and ultrasound.
She says: ‘It’s funny because before all this, I was part of a knitting group, Knit Your Socks Off, that knitted things like hats for premature babies, or socks for chemotherapy patients. Then, I became a patient myself.
‘The minute they realised something sinister might be going on, it was like a super team sprang into action.’
Within 10 days, she received life-changing news. She says: ‘I was diagnosed with stage three ovarian cancer.
‘It was as if time stopped, and all I could hear was a humming sound. I could see the doctor’s lips moving, but there was no sound. It was a huge shock.’
Sbba was introduced to her cancer nurse specialist – a designated NHS nurse whose role is to support cancer patients during every stage of treatment, helping them to understand options, and advocate for them.
A surgical team also explained what treatment options were now available to Sbba. She opted to have surgery to remove the cancer, but sadly, it had spread, and the surgeons weren’t able to do anything.
She says: ‘I woke up from surgery with 48 stitches, from my chest to pelvis, but it was all for nothing.’
She then began a course of chemotherapy in June 2022, which did little to shrink her tumours.
She says: ‘Chemotherapy was absolutely brutal, and I would often end up in A&E. If my cancer team knew I was there, the nurses would come off the ward to visit me and make sure I was okay.’
Finally, in October 2022, a new oral treatment was offered to Sbba which was a success – her tumours had shrunk enough to make surgery a possibility.
She says: ‘I had my surgery on a day that the doctors were striking – but I wouldn’t have known it. At the end of the day, my care was their priority.
‘And I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. I am now 100% tumour free and there is no residual disease.’
As well as her strong Muslim faith and the support of her family, Sbba credits the NHS for getting her through such a difficult time.
‘The NHS did everything right,’ she says. ‘They treated me with the utmost care and respect.’
For others, the NHS leapt into action in an emergency situation. Retired teacher Gail Hugman, 70, who lives in Essex, was just 38-years-old when she was in a devastating car accident and was left with a long list of injuries.
She says: ‘My right ankle was crushed, and I’d broken my fibula and tibula. My right knee had soft tissue damage and was bleeding heavily, my left arm was shattered, and I snapped two bones in my right arm.’
Gail is still in awe of the care she received that night. ‘I was taken to the hospital and administered life-saving treatment. It’s extraordinary, even now, looking back on it, how hard those people worked to save my life. I was monitored round the clock.’
Gail spent a lot of time in recovery, aided by medics who helped her walk again. She says: ‘There was a chance I would lose some of the use of my left arm. Thanks to the care and expertise of the medical staff and physios, I didn’t.
‘I was also told there was a chance I would never walk again on my right leg. Thanks to everyone involved, I did.’
Gail, now 70, says she can’t thank the NHS enough, even now, 33 years on. ‘Yes, I’m full of metal. No it wasn’t easy, but the staff were phenomenal.
‘I remember the ward sister who insisted that every nurse should come into the ward with a smile on their face. She used to say: “This is a trauma ward, it’s our job to lift your spirits too.”
‘The NHS has been and is, consistently, always doing the very best it can.’
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