THIS year marks the 75th Anniversary of the National Health Service, having been established in July of 1948 by the newly elected socialist Labour government of the time. 

The NHS that we all know and love today is very different from the National Health Service Nye Bevan founded in the years following the end of the second world war, with a plethora of advances in modern medicine and healthcare making the NHS the envy of the world.

However, sadly, this is no longer the case, as years of mismanagement, stealthy privatization, and deliberate underfunding have reduced our once proud NHS to a barely-functioning shadow of its potential. 

But, that's not to say all hope is lost.

When we at The Packet report on stories perceived as negative towards NHS, such as waiting times for ambulances or GP appointments, we're not trying to tear it down or persuade readers it isn't worth having. Quite the opposite.

We're trying to shine a light on the conditions our doctors, nurses, paramedics, midwives, and almost all other NHS staff are having to endure in order to provide the care we need. 

There are those that believe our NHS should be carved-up and sold off to private healthcare companies, or shift over to an insurance-based system, but this Skipper is not one of them.

Why wouldn't we give the very people that take care of us when we're most vulnerable the money they need to survive? Why would we sell off what was once a world-beating healthcare system into the hands of bloated corporations and insurance companies?

Ask yourselves not why the NHS is 'failing,' but who is failing the NHS and all those who work within it?