Thursday 28 February 2013

Guest Blog from Amari Blaize in response to my NHS blog:

Amari Blaize
Thanks to Amari for this Guest Blog today - written in response to my blog Theatre while you work at The NHS: Blog 48

I love the NHS. I think we Brits are very fortunate to live in a society that provides a health service free at the point of delivery. It must be protected at all costs. AND THERE IS A HUGE ‘BUT’.

Just as governments pander to the rich and powerful lobbies – food, tobacco, drink, arms, so the health service panders to the pharmaceutical companies. I have no wish to take a political stance, although it is about politics…the politics of health. Having had to confront a critical illness over the last five years, I have first hand experience of a health service whose whole raison d’etre is the ‘management of symptoms’ through allopathic drugs, and know little to nothing about healing. And certainly have no consideration for the ‘wholeness’ of the person.

And having participated in the past with the kind of formulaic approach to forum theatre that does that ‘wash and go’ thing, I do hope the NHS has the good sense to commission ARC Theatre for Change to do a piece on, in that doctor’s words: “culture shift…that promotes putting patients at the heart of the decisions that doctors make about patient’s healthcare…’No Decision About Me Without Me’.”

An indication of their good intention would be to ensure that an Arc piece runs the length and breadth of the British Isles, engage a cross section of those who ‘care for patients’ from the cleaners and caters to the nurses and consultants. And there is real monitoring of progress and a follow up in a year, then five years, and constantly taking the temperature through patient feedback over time. But that aint gonna happen is it? We can only do the best we can with what we get.

So here is a challenge for you Madam Director: How to weave a Web of Transformation (back to Cinders) in a fossilised structure or Matrix of collective thought that is the NHS!

4 comments:

amariblaize.blogspot.com said...

Yeh, Madam Director, I see that you did not refer to my comment on you ‘outing’ me today as probably the only one of your myriad friends who would describe your blog as ‘boring’, and I therefore decided to do a guest blog in response.

Carole Pluckrose said...

Thanks so much Madam! I trust that you do not refer to every post on my blog! but rather this specific one on the NHS? My 'myriad' of friends will certainly find some posts more interesting the others - as indeed do I when writing them! The beauty of blogging is that you are not constrained by the narrative through line of a book - so it is really a miscellany! But hey you know that as you live in the blogosphere - I shall endeavour to grade each of your blogs accordingly! Thank you for this!

amariblaize.blogspot.com said...

Well...you know....English is my 3rd language....

Carole Pluckrose said...

I will consider your question and challenge - and may return to it in a future blog! 3rd language? Please!