Sharing responsibility for Health & Education pressures

Recent Junior Doctors' strike (Image: New Statesman)

We should all share responsibility for the way our Health and Education systems are run at the moment. Now, before you troll me, please allow me to explain. It is so easy to blame politicians for the non-ideal condition our National Health Service is being run and the way education is run. These have stressed our current, and will stress the next, generation no end. It is also easy to say how, we, the British public, can suggest many amazing ways both Health and Education can boost the lives of the entire population to the policy makers.

But there is so much both systems can do to function in modern Britain. There is a constant outcry that how both should be protected in the government's budget and politicians promise more money would be injected in the public run schools and hospitals. Yet, where the money is going to is damaging sectors we feel most passionate about. We need to stop and look exactly where the investment 'should' go, analyse what role the NHS plays in the 21st Century, and analyse how children can excel in our schools without the unnecessary stresses and pressures.

Let's start with the National Health Service. Like every other person in the UK, I rely on it. I highly respect the pure dedication from our doctors, nurses, dentists, consultants and other medical professionals. Every day of the week, they embark on fresh challenges and we salute every single one of them. They are our true heroes. Yet, the ratio between us and them is completely disproportionate. The demand for them to perform and save lives in every lengthy shift is huge, and they require rewards and incentives to keep them going and show that we appreciate their efforts. However, this is where the problems begin.

The government we have at the moment has a vision to get as many NHS facilities operating seven days a week. To translate, this means that every GP practice is required to open during weekends. This includes every dentistry and health centre too. MPs realise there are pressures in the health service, with a rising number of people residing in the UK, and waiting lists for key operations and general doctors' appointments getting longer. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt believes that the best way forward is to have a seven day service to relieve those pressures, and when he announced his proposals, he expected medical professionals to go ahead with it.

Jeremy Hunt (Image: Zimbio)

The reaction was the direct opposite to what Hunt hoped for. This year alone has seen junior doctors, recently qualified professionals after years of intense training, perform two 'all-out strikes' over these controversial new contracts. In these contracts, their hours may not have increased by much, but rather than work Monday to Friday, they are now required to work any five of the seven days a week - and without a significant pay rise. At first this contract was non-negotiable but recent reports suggest that both Hunt and the British Medical Association (BMA) are willing to talk to each other and agree on something that satisfies all parties, and therefore, no more strikes.

It isn't just junior doctors that are unhappy about the seven day health service. Opposition political parties are also sceptical over how this would be funded. The government responded, by quoting their manifesto prior to last year's general election, by saying that they would boost the NHS funds by £8 billion a year until 2020. All parties at the time pledged to inject billions more in to the public health service, and I thought that was a great idea too.

Looking at the NHS now, it is falling apart regardless of the cash boost. I wrote about my experience in an operating table in July 2014 on here, and noticed how short staffed they were. There weren't many of us in the waiting area, yet I could see by 6pm (having been there for nine hours), the nurses there had a long and tiresome day. The same can be said with GPs and Accident and Emergency (A&E) staff. Certainly, the latter is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but constantly face a struggle, and their performances are often scrutinised. If statistically less than 95% of their patients aren't seen to in fewer than four hours, then they're in trouble. Just throwing money at the problem isn't going to kiss things better.

Part of the issue lies within us, the British public. Up to Victorian times, flus often led to deaths. This is no longer the case. We know what to do - take paracetamol, Ibuprofen if you must, drink plenty of water and rest. For those with allergies to certain medication, we have guidance both online and offline. We don't need to use NHS's resources every time we feel queasy.

Usually, we panic when something happens to our health but if we helped ourselves improve without the reliance of professionals, we could save the health service potentially billions. Let's think cost-efficient rather than splash the cash. Involve the private sector when it comes to receiving specialist treatment if it's affordable. The government can even start building more specialist clinics across the country so we know where to go whenever we have a specific disease. Too many hospitals are too generic, lacking that crucial guidance to perform emergency treatments.

Our responsibility in the health sector is similar to that in education. We blame the government for conducting difficult exams, fining parents for taking children on holiday during term time, the rise in stress-related illnesses among children - we forget that it isn't all their fault. Sure, they lack measures to combat these issues, but to point fingers at them simply won't resolve the issues at hand.

Exams are difficult, and particularly among children in Key Stage 2 and 3 levels, it can pressure them if teachers and parents emphasise to them the false importance of passing and warn them they're doomed if they don't. Reports in recent weeks apparently prove the SATs papers 11-year-olds take are impossible for adults, and many wonder how children that age are expected to know, for example, subordinating conjunctions. They know it, because they're taught it and the 11-year-olds will realise later in life, they don't need to learn the specific term as using that language would come naturally to them. They'll know there are names to the English language we use on a daily basis. I remember the terms when I was in Year Six and I didn't lose sleep about it, but I suppose this was because I was in a school which didn't inject fear in our veins.

Exams aren't designed to scare - they're designed to see how pupils have progressed from September to June. These results then would guide the system in informing those how to improve on their numeracy and literacy. Sadly, some parents see it as competition and that's injected into children's blood too. It's a circle that has to stop because stress, while occasionally healthy, can get the better of us.

Nicky Morgan (Image: Huffington Post)

Of course parents know their sons and daughters best - and at the same time know the school rules. Establishments inform mums, dads or guardians of parliamentary changes, homework deadlines, exam dates, and so on, through parents' evenings, letters and even social media. So if a parent knows, for example, if they take a child on holiday during term, there are certain consequences such as fines. Holidays during school hours are much cheaper and working parents aren't always able to take annual leave during the 13 weeks their children have off.

I disagree with financial punishment for taking child away from school for a few days, although if I were a head teacher, I'd strongly discourage parents from taking liberty. But again, if a child is a few days behind, it's up to that parent to liaise with the teachers to know what is required to catch-up on. It isn't the government's fault if a child doesn't get the grades the parent want from their child. The school can take some responsibility but there has to be transparency from those whose primary responsibility is the development of that child, day and night.

This transparency, however, can pile pressure on teachers whose main role is to keep a Hawkeye of their pupils' progress in education. They, like nurses, are professionals and go through an extensive process to be where they are (although medical professionals go through it longer and more vigorous). Yet, they are also unhappy about certain government changes. The academisation of schools proposal by the government was thankfully binned by Education Secretary Nicky Morgan.

But policies like these show such professionals are uncertain about where and how they teach. Little support is given to them when they work before and after school, preparing for future classes, grading work and are often scrutinised by officials if anything is not up to their standards. Yet, prospective teachers know what they're signing up to so they could either embrace it, or decide to look at other career options.

Again, we have to stop and analyse what to do. The government, not just this one but previous administrations too, think the best solution is to throw money at the problem. You can't put financial value to teaching excellence. It's about recognising that every child is an individual with different needs - there is too much generalisation in the education system that is adding pressure on parents and teachers. For our nurses and teachers that contribute so greatly in our modern society, there is a heightened need for politicians and public alike to join forces. They have to think common sense and find common ground. Let's spend less time blaming each other for any 'failings' and share responsibility and respect for the benefit of our next generation.