Front line hero

It only lasted a few moments each morning but it was one of the most powerful pieces of broadcasting I have heard in a long time. The BBC Radio 4 Today programme broadcast a daily audio diary by Dr Geraldine O'Hara, working for Medecins San Frontiers in Sierra Leone, at the heart of the Ebola outbreak. The impact of the broadcasts was aided by Dr O'Hara's straightforward style of delivery as she contained her emotions while recounting some heartbreaking situations. She is just one of many clinicians who have been prepared to put themselves on the front line of the battle to confront this terrible disease. I thank God for the courage and compassion of those people like Dr O'Hara who are prepared to risk so much to bring hope and healing amidst the despair in this part of West Africa.

You can hear Dr O'Hara's audio diary here.

Africa's killers

Last week the Prime Minister made a speech about the Ebola crisis facing parts of Africa and I was rather taken aback when he made the following comment:

Ebola is the 'biggest health problem facing our world in a generation.'

No one can argue that the present Ebola outbreak is horrific and clearly having a terrible impact in some parts of Africa. However, two things struck me about this statement. Firstly, the Ebola outbreak has been around for some time, yet, it is only now that western governments, including our own and the USA, seem to be responding with anything approaching adequate resources. Could this be because we have one or two cases of the disease on our own shores and so now the illness is being taken seriously?

Secondly, and to my mind more importantly, is the Ebola outbreak really 'the biggest health problem facing our world in a generation'? I well remember the gradual emergence of news in the 1980s of a disease that was devastating parts of Africa and various communities in western countries. I remember the chilling government advert, accompanied by images of tombstones and John Hurt's voice, shown across the television channels. I remember meeting people my own age with AIDS who were at that time living under a death sentence. A couple of years ago in Kenya I was struck by how many public signs and warnings there were about the continued threat of HIV/AIDS. Is Ebola really a greater threat to the world than HIV/AIDS? Does this sort of hyperbole help or hinder in situations like the one we face at the moment with Ebola?

Then my attention was drawn to this graph by Paula Gooder which seems to suggest I was right in questioning the statement.

The NGO Water.org, co-founded by Matt Damon and Gary White, points out that 3.4 million people a year die as a result of a water related disease. This dwarfs the impact of Ebola and we have the means to address this problem, but of course it doesn't really impact on most of us living in the west.

I'm pleased that David Cameron and Barack Obama are finally addressing the Ebola outbreak and its impact on various countries in Africa. I support the allocation of resources to deal with the crisis and want to see other countries respond in the same way. But when the Ebola crisis is over I also hope that our governments are prepared to invest the same commitment of time, energy and resources to the other much 'bigger' health problems facing the world in our generation, even if they don't pose the same threat directly to us as they do to our brothers and sisters in other parts of our world.

Teeth on edge

I heard some sad news yesterday. My wife was booking an appointment with our dentist and was informed he had left. Recently I had a very painful abscess under a tooth and he saw me twice within an hour of phoning the practice, carefully explained the problem and prescribed the appropriate treatment. There was no charge for the appointments and x-rays, though there are basic charges for my usual treatment. He was an NHS dentist. His practice has recently moved to new premises in the same village with the latest equipment, good parking, a comfortable environment and the clincher... free WiFi! What more could we ask for. He was brilliant and POLISH and as a family we are going to miss him. The good news is there is a new dentist at the practice and if she is anywhere near as good as him we will be very happy. She is also Polish.

We moved to our dentist's practice a few years ago because our previous dentist, who was British, had written to advise us that his practice was going private and he enclosed a load of bumf about our options for taking out private insurance. Call me old fashioned but I have a commitment to the National Health Service and am happy to pay my taxes so that people can access treatment free at the point of need. I recently had some gastric problems and again received excellent treatment from specialist physicians in a recently rebuilt hospital. The whole process from booking appointments, prepping for the procedures, the endoscopies and the after care were first class and again in a friendly comfortable environment that made an unpleasant procedure as bearable as possible. First class service on the NHS and don't ask me to list the number of different nationalities of those involved in my care.

A couple of thoughts. Yes, there are problems with the NHS. That's no surprise given the size of the organisation and the demands made of it. But as we seek development and improvement let us not lose sight of the jewel of the nation that we already have. Danny Boyle was right to celebrate the NHS at the heart of the Olympic Games opening ceremony. So let's stop selling it off on the sly piece by piece so that we have to pay again for what we already own.

And I want to say thank you to my Polish dentist for his friendly manner, his excellent treatment and for the contribution he has made to our family's well being and to the local community he has served. When I hear people moaning about immigrants swamping our country, read the pernicious propaganda distributed by UKIP and listen to politicians from the other political parties targeting immigration as the great ill of our age, it is my Polish dentist that comes to mind and I am ashamed of the quality and tone of our public discourse on this matter; it really sets my teeth on edge.




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