THE IDEAL
OF A HOSPITAL
I have had the good fortune to enjoy
robust health most of my life and apart from minor episodes have been a
stranger to inpatient stays at hospital. Recently a 2-week stay, involving a bowel
cancer op, has opened my eyes to the many admirable things in the NHS system in
general and my excellent local hospital in particular. I unreservedly withdraw
all the critical shafts I may have directed at such organisations in the past,
in my profound ignorance.
Our local hospital in Ashford is
dedicated to the name of William Harvey (1578-1657), who was a native of
Folkestone. Harvey achieved immortality through his vital discoveries and
insights surrounding the circulation of the blood, following his studies at
Padua University and he was an honoured ornament of the corps of medical men at
the London City Hospital of St Bartholemew the Great, still going strong.
William Harvey
In later life, Harvey lost favour
and preferment, being identified as a Royalist, but he was not a political
person and he died peacefully in his bed in turbulent times. Schools and institutes
in Kent have long been named after him and the fine Hospital in Ashford opened
in 1977 is a wholly deserved tribute.
The William Harvey is a thoroughly
modern institution. We live in a multi-cultural society and as a patient, I was
humbled by the ethos of the place. Whatever the background of the professional
staff, they are firmly wedded to Western medicine with its rigorous standards.
More than that, the Hospital treats the whole patient, and one does not leave
it without effort being made not just to treat the principal ailment but also any
other you may be carrying too. Several emotionally challenged or disruptive
patients were sat with, comforted and calmed by charming nurses and if they had
a sore elbow too, that also would be ministered to.
All the nursing and support staff
were mutually supportive, helping each other out in their various duties, and
easily radiating kindness and optimism. This hugely lightened the atmosphere in
a place which inevitably possesses a degree of sadness and anxiety. There were
many English nurses, often of the no-nonsense, jolly type pursuing outside
interests passionately. Others, for example came from Nigeria, Poland and
Ireland. There was a particularly attractive group of nurses from Nepal,
poised, delicate and aspirational. All had family connections with Gurkha
veterans. Long esteemed in Britain, it is a joy to see these good people
enjoying full residence rights and opportunities in the country their ancestors
served with such courage and devotion. Poignantly many of the nurses spoke of
their nostalgia for “home” however remote that might be or unlikely their
return.
Before getting too dewy-eyed, it
is well established that the NHS faces huge management challenges, which
successive governments have failed to solve or contain. It is an idealistic
experiment but that brings its own nobility. Ramsay Macdonald said in the 1920s
“The watchword of socialism is not class-consciousness, it is community-consciousness.”
The William Harvey is a shining beacon of community-consciousness, and we can
only hope its spirit can thrive anew amid the rough political seas before us.
SMD
28.06.24
Text Copyright ©
Sidney Donald 2024
