The NHS isn’t designed or funded to be “excellent” - it’s designed to perform a function. If all aspects were excellent, by definition it becomes average. However, this doesn’t mean it’s mediocre. It’s really let down for three reasons in my view - it’s a political tool subject to short term political strategy, it’s become highly inefficient and wasteful... bloated and admin-heavy, and it’s publicly beyond reproach or challenge. I know a lot of people in the NHS at various levels and they are all committed and care about what they’re doing, but are let down by the system itself.
Another aspect I find an interesting concept is that the NHS is essentially parasitic - it benefits massively from medical advances made by health systems it (and the public) love to deride. The American system is awful and unjust, but it leads the world in medical funding and progress. Many other healthcare systems then benefit from this R&D.
It’s right that the NHS staff get plaudits, but based on people I know on the frontline some of the headlines at the moment are disingenuous at best, lies at worst. Journalists haven’t become moral public service broadcasters overnight - they all want an angle/story. I try to read a range of newspapers to reduce my confirmation bias, but increasingly struggle with the Guardian in particular - they try to claim the broadsheet high ground, but they’re tabloid standard and regularly misrepresent facts.
lol, rant over!