It is no secret that both pre- and post-pandemic, we are well and truly blessed to have the NHS.
In 2014, after an influx of pressure was put on the healthcare sector, predominantly those in accident and emergency departments, a nationwide campaign was launched by the NHS to educate patients of best practise specifically when it comes to A&E.
The campaign outlined illnesses which are classed as emergency by the NHS and which illnesses should be treated at home or by a GP. The campaign urged patients to first assess their illness and be mindful of the severity of it before attending A&E, in order to allow the sector to better prioritise those who are seriously injured or unwell.
A fair request from a sector which is created to prioritise the health of a nation; with most adhering to the more specific guidelines, after the campaign pressure, waiting times and further injury started to decline in A&E units.
There are multiple educational campaigns released by the NHS every year such as world health awareness days, which are targeted at specific areas of health concerns from smoking, alcoholism, mental health improvement initiatives to specific cancer awareness, all of which are designed to encourage people to take certain precautions and make healthy choices, thus reducing the number of hospital admissions of patients with preventable disease, to free more time and resources for the critically ill.
In more recent times, health and well-being awareness has become more apparent, with more and more people adhering to health advice, making educated and healthy lifestyle choices and generally being more mindful of the NHS. Of course, the current covid-era is an extra ordinary circumstance, however pandemic or no pandemic, the sector has, and continues to be overwhelmed both economically and logistically due to admissions of patients with disease which could have been prevented.
A nation developing healthier habits is a great start in generally bettering the health of many people and carefully nurturing our sacred NHS however, unfortunately most cancers and disease are completely symptomless until they have reached an advanced stage. Sadly, there is no guarantee that preventative actions alone will completely exempt you from chronic disease and taking up the NHS’s precious time at some point in your life.
The only way for a more definitive approach to your health is by more and more people undergoing Preventative Health Assessments, especially when utilising a combination of modalities for eg CT, MRI and Ultrasound in order to assess the entirety of the body for optimum and accurate detection.
The more people who are in the know about the health of their body from the inside out can save lives and drastically reduce the pressure that is put on the NHS every day.
Contact us for more information.
