There have been some quite interesting health stories this week. We’ll fill you in on pages 4-5, but you may have missed them because it seems that all bandwidth has been sucked up by the ongoing row over Brexit. In case you missed that, the PM survived an attempt to depose her by a charmless cabal of posh weirdos, but is left holding a Brexit deal nobody believes she can pass.
Meanwhile the leader of the opposition continues to maintain a studied disinterest in the outcome: evidence either that he is basically useless; or that he is master strategist operating at a level most cannot understand. It depends who you talk to.
But Brexit is not just a soap opera full of ugly people, it is a juggernaut heading towards the country at horrendous velocity, and the prospect of a no-deal Brexit in three months’ time has become more likely, with the knock on effects for UK industries, food supplies and drugs for our patients. Although, I’ve had letters to the contrary, I do try to keep an open mind in these columns and represent all points of view, but I find it difficult to see Brexit as anything other than a disaster for the health of the UK.
That promise on the bus seems a long time ago now, but the staff shortages caused by EU nurses leaving the UK are current. And I could go on.
In May this year, the RCN became the first trade union to demand a referendum on the eventual Brexit deal. It was a bold stance, and this week’s events have vindicated it. If people had the right to vote on a fantasy version of leaving the EU, then they should be allowed a long hard look at the impending reality. The People’s Vote is not a perfect cure for Brexit’s madness, but it’s undoubtedly the best we have.