The Wretched Minority
There are many disturbing aspects to the current Covid-19 crisis enveloping the world. In the UK one is the applause given by people to ‘The NHS’ - what does this actually mean? Who is the applause aimed at?
The answer is of course, all those front-line NHS Doctors, Nurses and yes, ancillary staff too – let us not forget those who often work unseen but who are just as crucial. To all these vital people we send our thanks and the applause is unreservedly deserved. There is however, a significantly large group of people within the NHS who do not deserve a thing; not one single clap, not one single word of thanks and not one single phrase of praise.
There are legions of CEOs, senior managers and others who see their role simply as one of saving money – one of the ways in which they do that is to place as many barriers as possible in the way of people getting to see those brilliant people on the front line. They do nothing except create tick-box lists and if a single tick is missing, don’t expect treatment anytime soon.
All of these people are on six-figure and high-end five-figure salaries and cost the NHS an astoundingly large sum of money every year. Whilst many ordinary people are now out of work as a result of the Covid-19 situation, and many are taking wage and salary cuts, where are the upper reaches of NHS management doing the same? Hiding behind their office doors, whether those doors be an NHS office or their homes.
It must be said that there are numbers of dedicated administrators within the NHS who are tireless in their devotion to the cause of the patient. What a shame their efforts are undermined by the others.
We must also applaud all those others who continue to work and make the wheels turn; food store workers and delivery staff; postal workers; transport workers; bin men and so many others upon whom we depend.
Another disturbing aspect is the response of some to the illness now affecting the Prime Minister. This is the official statement from Number 10:
Since Sunday evening, the Prime Minister has been under the care of doctors at St Thomas’ Hospital, in London, after being admitted with persistent symptoms of coronavirus.
Over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the Prime Minister has worsened and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital.
The PM has asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is the First Secretary of State, to deputise for him where necessary.
The PM is receiving excellent care, and thanks all NHS staff for their hard work and dedication.
It is gratifying to see and read the messages of support from the vast majority of people within the UK and from so many other countries around the world. We echo those messages and hope that Boris Johnson recovers fully and is soon able to resume his full duties.
But the mentality of a minority who have posted hate-filled messages on social media towards the Prime Minister is a savage indictment of their thinking, their upbringing and education. To those people we send our own message – be quiet. You’re warped ideology is not wanted in the UK. Please leave and reside somewhere else.
One final point – to the minority who think the rules do not apply to them; stay at home. You are not on holiday and neither is the country. Just because the weather is nice does not entitle you to sunbathe, have barbecues and picnics. Go home and stay there.
© KJM Today 2020
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