They say the #NHS is broken.
Some allege it is gone to the gutters. Yet, others insist it is moribund.
These Brits. If only they knew.
But then, privilege rarely recognises itself, right?
It’s like that insulated bubble where you complain that you ‘only’ have five pairs of yellow shoes …….
– mustard, lemon, canary, sunflower, sunrise – and feel wounded because a stranger at the party wore agbalumo‑yellow flats… the only pair she owns
That was the thought running through my mind that Sunday morning when I turned the bend on my way to church and saw a scene that stopped me in my tracks.
As I turned the bend on my way to church, I saw them descending the hill……
Four paramedics. Two steadying an unkempt homeless man between them
I was confused.
“This is barely 9am on a Sunday morning with empty streets”
“Who called the paramedics?”
“How come it’s ratio 4:1?”
“For them to be here, it is either the park or the cemetery. So where did they pick him from and where is their van?”
I paused. Feet leaden and frozen, I surveyed the unfolding spectacle as these questions assailed me
A habit I picked from childhood was pausing to say a prayer each time an ambulance or fire truck sped by.
A habit which got personal after my cancer drama
As I watched, an ambulance appeared at the top of the hill.
They opened the door gently and guided him in.
When I descended the other side, I saw another ambulance parked by the cemetery.
So I was right. The call must have come from the park or the cemetery.
Two vehicles. For one homeless man.
I stood again and kept staring at the parked vehicle. That was when the tears came.
“You mean …..two ambulances responded on a Sunday morning for a homeless man?
Dear White-Britisher, you may not grasp the weight of that statement. Especially if you have never needed healthcare outside these shores.
But I am a Nigerian.
Nigeria is a deeply-religious land – overflowing with zealots and fanatics.
A member of the OIC too.
On Fridays, streets shut down for Islamic prayers. The human cordons do not care if you are inconvenienced.
By Sundays, at 9am, roads are jammed with people racing to meet God in his various houses
And just like the priest and the Levite in the Good Samaritan story, none would have stopped for a ‘homeless drunk’ lying by the roadside that Sunday.
Well, maybe to check his pockets for his phone. Not to call for help…..you recall what the robbers did to that man in the story?
Worse off, there is no free healthcare. No paramedics arriving with tenderness and dignity. In fact, calling could land you into trouble with the police
He would have merely been left by the roadside and probably run over by one of those speeding to their appointment with God.
Yet here, in Britain, you deride the NHS — a 77‑year‑old institution still fulfilling its purpose:
free healthcare at the point of access.
Weary? Yes.
Under strain? Absolutely.
But still standing.
Still serving.
Still showing up for the man society has forgotten.
Go online and read how Americans speak of this NHS with reverence
Then look again at what you have.
Ans show some respect.
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