October 21st 2024.
The government has certainly not run out of ideas since the launch of their public consultation. It's quite endearing that the British public has taken this seemingly dry topic of the future of the health service and turned it into a chance for some playful teasing.
Today, the government opened a website to gather suggestions on how to improve the NHS - a task that is undoubtedly of high importance. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Health Secretary Wes Streeting have called for a complete reimagining of the 76-year-old institution in order to better serve the UK.
However, once it was announced that all responses on the Change.nhs.uk site would be made public, there was a flood of silly proposals mixed in with the genuine ones. Some of these ideas focused on cutting costs, such as removing the word "National" from the health service's name to save time and ink. Another suggestion was to have all doctors go by the name "Doctor Who" to save money on name badges and standardized letters and emails.
One contributor even proposed using the passive-aggressive energy of GP receptionists to power up to 50% of the NHS's electricity needs, in an effort to reduce hospital running costs. And when it comes to procuring equipment, one person suggested enlisting the help of Keir Starmer's dad.
Surprisingly, the pub chain Wetherspoons seemed to be a recurring theme in many of the responses. Some suggested installing a Wetherspoons in every hospital to decrease rates of mental illness.
Unfortunately, not all of these ideas will make it past the consultation stage. Wes Streeting revealed on social media that some suggestions, like installing a Wetherspoons in every hospital, were vetoed by the Chancellor during budget negotiations. He also politely declined the suggestion of being fired out of a cannon to raise money for the NHS.
On the other hand, Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey, known for his theatrical stunts in the House of Commons, showed his enthusiasm for the proposal by tweeting in support of it. It seems like duty calls for some more creative solutions to improve the NHS.
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