God bless the NHS. It is 60 years old. Finally it is at an age where it can appreciate what it is to retire. Oh god please don't retire NHS.

I love the NHS. I mean sometimes it is a pile of crap. Having spent much time in the hospital both as a patient and a medic, I have seen all sides and oh so many levels. But I still love the bloody geriatric machine that it is.

It is Free FUCKING health-care. It is good, free fucking health-care. Understaffed with the personnel it needs (like doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, social workers, administrators who can find their arsehole on the first attempt, and countless more) and completely and utterly under appreciated, especially by the stupid idiots who work in it.

The system is not perfect,but then again what is. Sure you may have to wait hours in A&E or for that appointment whether GP or hospital, and sure you may feel like you are being ignored by the doctors if you have to be an inpatient. And yes, trying to get a convenient appointment is like panning the Thames for gold.... but I want people to realise that the health-care professionals are doing this job, working the shitty hours - and boy are they shitty - because they want to help sick people not feel sick any more. It isn't for the pay (cos honestly i can't see how that is worth it) and for most (there are some subsections I can't for reasons of my sanity count here by I digress) it isn't for the prestige and respect. And right now I can certainly say it isn't for the job security. Oh and as for helping people, lets face it patients are the most selfish ungrateful and annoying idiots you'll ever meet. I should know, I am a terrible one. There they stand trying to make people well because its the job and you do the job in front of you.

Shit, I make working in the NHS sound like fighting in a war, and that is not a fair comparison. I think that patients feel ignored and lost in the great machine and I certainly feel that there are areas of improvement with health-care/patient relations. There is much that can be learnt from the other service industries on their ability to build rapport.

But I would like to make this point. When you are ill, you go see a doctor. You come as a patient, not a customer. Yes, you should be involved with the treatment and you should definitely have a say with what you put in or have done to your body. It is after all your body. But you do not ask a fishmonger to fix your computer and you certainly would not be all in the face of a plumber telling them that wrench is not suitable for the task at hand. It is your call in the end of the day. We are just trying to do the best with what we can. Changes do need to be made but they need to be made intelligently. It also needs to be led on all the different fronts, from patients and from all healthcare professionals. We cannot just continue to plug the holes but truly consider what is needed to save this wonderful institution.

So, yes, God bless the NHS. Gods bless, or if you do not believe in any divine power, just simply bless it. Fight for things worth fighting for, and free health care is certainly one.