‘On a less political note, I think it is a bit shocking to find that, of the 5 or 6 things that the British think are their most important achievements in all of history, the NHS is one of them. ‘
In the era covered (not the whole of British history), the NHS IS, for ill or good, one of the most important parts of modern British history. A part of British life used by everyone at some point.
‘Also that the NHS is so underworked or overstaffed that they could afford to send thousands of their professionals off to get trained to dance in the Olympics.’
I assume you are joking.
Actually, I had originally assumed they weren’t all doctors and nurses, but the announcers kept insisting that every performer on stage was a doctor or nurse.
But I assume that there is a vast NHS beauracracy who was still hard at work while the rest of them were practicing for the olympics.
As to “everybody uses it”, even my family has used it. We were visiting friends in 1994, and one day left our daughter with them to take a quick trip down to see Wimbledon stadium, and my daughter woke up with a fever, so they ran her to the doctor and she had an ear infection and the put her on antibiotics.
That would be what they would call the “positive side” of universal health care.
On the “acheivements” issue, I don’t see something ubiquitous within a country to be the same as an acheivement of the country. Even if you were making an Olympic opening ceremony that was inwardly focused, NHS is hardly an “acheivement” — it doesn’t take special gifts to simply socialize your medical care. Many countries have managed it.
IT’s not an “achievement” like inventing the world wide web, or the Beatles.
But really, the childrens books and the childrens hospital, those were really good things to focus on.