The aims of the NHS
must be acknowledged by the government in the future, if it wants to reduce oral health inequality and crucially, the liberation of other healthcare professionals to allow them to focus on their job instead.
Conclusion
The government will always be scrutinized for its dealings around the NHS and the consequences for both the NHS and its patients. From its foundation, the NHS has had three primary aims set out and as the time since its foundations increases, it is imperative that we look at whether or not the government, as a custodian of the NHS, has acted in a manner that defends these three primary aims. This essay has looked at just a handful of the initiatives by the government and has evaluated the role of the government in some of the extremely significant events in its timeline. As regards Aim I, this research has shown that inadequate funding has had a grave impact on the NHS, possibly causing rising A&E wait times and limitations in treatment. Smoking has certainly declined dramatically, but the government’s current role must shift more towards the rise in vaping. The sugar tax, as expected, demonstrated its controversy in terms of acting as a ‘sin tax’. The role of the government, in accordance to Aim II of the NHS, indicated success in the prevention of illness, with healthcare professionals believing that vaccinations have played an integral role in fulfilling this aim. NICE is shown to play a crucial role in the day-to-day functioning of the NHS, but there have been aspects where some guidelines have not been followed and so further investigation is needed to ensure adherence. Privatization has raised lots of concerns about the diversion from fully state-run health service and the wastage of money on outsourcing to private companies. The third aim of the NHS, from my research, has proven challenging to meet, in a time when our population is ageing, and the needs of patients are increasing. Free prescriptions have been shown to be extremely difficult to fund, and with 90% of people not paying for prescriptions, it seems unnecessary to remove all charges. This research has shown that universally free dental treatment is not popular andwould be hard to provide, but a possibility of ameans-tested scheme could help provide a bridge. This research has provided an insight into the success and failure of initiatives by the government. Conducting primary research has given a valued viewpoint from the grassroot level of healthcare professionals, which reinforces the value of the NHS’ role in cancer treatment, free healthcare and emergency care. They also highlighted the need for adaptation to the complexity of modern medicine, continued funding, and reduction in waiting times. It is hard to state that the role of the government has been either good or bad. Rather, the government has demonstrated aspects in accordance of the primary aims of the NHS, and aspects that have not. Significantly, it is highly probable that decreasing funding could be a cause for several issues discussed in this report and therefore, the government must primarily address this issue first.
Bibliography
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH). (2017, February 21st). Key dates in the history of anti-tobacco campaigning. Retrieved February 1st, 2020, fromASH: https://ash.org.uk/information-and-resources/briefings/key- dates-in-the-history-of-anti-tobacco-campaigning/
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