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[/audioplayer]Like many of my fellow junior doctors, I trusted a Conservative government with the NHS. If it’s to stay strong and up to date, a health service cannot remain static. It needs not just money but carefully thought-out reform — as well as a strong economy to support it.
Just after the general election, David Cameron laid out the problem as he saw it: a ‘weekend effect’ where a patient admitted to hospital on a Sunday is 16 per cent more likely to die than one admitted on a Wednesday. ‘So seven-day care isn’t just about a better service — it’s about saving lives,’ he said. This is a classic example of a little knowledge being a dangerous thing.
When I work weekend shifts, I do notice that services could be improved — not everyone in a hospital works seven days.
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