Less For More - Part 2
In this the second of our three part of our investigation into the NHS in Somerset, we look at some of the operational challenges and the impact of fragmenting the service.
LC Special 8
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Less For More - part 2
In the first part of our investigation into the NHS, we took at look at the scale of the organisation and the unnecessary complexity in the way that it is split up. In this edition we wanted to take a closer look at why it isn’t working.
The basic problem
The fact is that we have an ageing population. Especially here in Somerset. The older we get the more likely we are to have health issues that need treatment in hospitals. Between the 2011 and 2021 census, the population of Somerset aged over 65 grew by 30,000. The total population growth in Somerset over that decade was just 41,000.
Nor do we help ourselves by having ever more sophisticated treatments at our disposal. That may sound bizarre. Of course medical advances are a “good thing.” But we also have to face the fact that they add to the problem. If you like, we have become victims of the NHS’s success. Better medicine keeps us alive longer, meaning we need ever more of that better medicine to keep us going.