The Times They Are A Taxing?

Tax is one of those hot topics that can be fairly divisive along political lines. Few of us relish the idea of paying tax, but nearly everyone loathes the idea of our taxes being wasted on vanity projects or things that seem out of line with our values or needs.

I recently had the pleasure of seeing Nye, a production at the National Theatre about the Welsh Labour MP who was responsible for creating the NHS. Given how many doctors I have met and advised over the years and how committed they are to their work, I was surprised to learn how few doctors in the late 1940s were initially supportive of his plans. I am, probably like you, extremely grateful for the NHS and the treatment and care that I have had over the years. Of course it has many faults and flaws, but like all great things it is a work in progress.

Whilst the play, starring Michael Sheen, has now concluded its sell-out run, it is still available to watch on the excellent streaming service from the National Theatre (very good value at £100 a year).

You may remember the fabulous opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London, created by Danny Boyle, a time when being English made me rather proud and flags were welcoming. There was a great segment honouring the NHS with giant beds and dancing doctors and nurses, a real celebration of one of our best institutions.

It took courage, passion and compromise to create the NHS – agreeing to make doctors the highest paid professionals, whilst retaining their independence and ability to work outside the NHS. It also took tax – at a time when Britain and the world was being rebuilt brick by brick, street by street. Rationing hadn’t even ended – not officially ending for another six years after the NHS was born (4 July 1954).

Today the NHS has approaching 1.4m members of staff with a budget approaching £200bn and serving 66 million of us. Most Americans (the sensible ones) recognise just how lucky we are to have our NHS, a medical problem in the US may well see your family bankrupted without sufficient private insurance.

Tax can be used extremely well and it’s clear that different nations have alternative views and approaches. It would seem that the majority of politicians have given up on trying to do difficult things, instead opting for pat answers and deferring decisions (or indecision). The NHS is regularly a political football and the media coverage that it often receives can only leave a discerning mind questioning the motives of billionaire media owners who live abroad (well maybe simply drawing obvious conclusions). In the pandemic we saw the incredible bravery of medics as they tackled an unknown virus without the right equipment, we clapped and thanked and then many forgot.

So I am hereby giving my heartfelt thanks to those of you who work within the NHS, as GPs, Junior Doctors, Consultants, nurses, psychologists, psychotherapists, OTs and managers (I hope I haven’t missed any of you out). Whether you are retired or still fighting the good fight, THANK YOU! My family, friends and I have all benefitted from your collective wisdom, care and the pursuit of good medicine and good science.

So let us remember that our taxes, as painful as they may sometimes be (and I would be the first to suggest that the tax system is desperately broken) are doing tremendous good, every minute of every day. The NHS should not be for sale.

References:

2012 Olympic Ceremony video: https://www.youtube.com/live/4As0e4de-rI?si=VwY32f_03psef0F0

Nye: National Theatre Trailer: https://nye.ntlive.com/trailer/

National Theatre at Home: https://www.ntathome.com/