Aisling's story
This blog is written by NHS patient and Just Treatment supporter Aisling Murray.
What have your experiences been as an NHS patient?
I was diagnosed with a life threatening lung and heart condition (Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension) at Great Ormond Street Hospital when I was 13. I had been experiencing symptoms such as breathlessness, dizziness and fainting since I was 10 but because the condition is very rare it took 3 years to be diagnosed. By this time the illness had progressed to a fatal stage. Thankfully I was under the care of the NHS which meant that my Consultant was able to give me the most up to date treatments, and luckily my body responded well to them. The medication that saved my life can only be administered intravenously, so since my diagnosis I have been attached to a small machine that pumps this medicine directly into my heart 24/7. Tragically this medication is only available in 15 countries in the world, and so I am only alive today thanks to the NHS and the world class healthcare it provides.
When I was 16 I was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus). The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government had been elected the previous year and I was becoming increasingly terrified of austerity cuts and the privatisation of the NHS. By the time I reached adult services at age 19 my medical team had to fight hard to keep the treatment I needed in place. I have also seen firsthand the strain that the pandemic, alongside chronic underfunding and increasing privatisation by our government, has had on our NHS. My medical team and the hospitals I attend are under increasing pressure and I fear what the rise in COVID cases over the coming winter months will do.
What impact has the pandemic had on you?
Because of both my lung and heart condition and my autoimmune condition, I was classed as Extremely Clinically Vulnerable when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Not only am I at higher risk of catching COVID, but if I do catch it I am also more likely to die. I therefore had to go into shielding, meaning that I couldn’t leave the house - not even for exercise. I wasn’t able to work and my physical health deteriorated due to a depletion in my fitness. Like many people, I could also feel all of the work I had done on my mental health conditions (Depression, Anxiety and OCD) quickly unravelling. The thing I struggled with most was knowing that all of this could have been avoided. The government could have stopped COVID from taking hold in the UK in the first place if they had wanted to, but they put profit above people and we’re the ones who have paid a terrible price for it. Like so many of us, I have lost 3 loved ones during this time and I was unable to attend their funerals because it was not safe to do so.
I was shielding for 14 months until I was lucky enough to get my first vaccine earlier this year. I have now had my second vaccine and a booster dose. Because of the vaccine I am now able to leave the house again, and it’s safer for me to see friends and family now that they have had the vaccine too. I am so happy to be getting my life back again but I am heartbroken for the many people around the world for whom this is not even close to becoming a reality.
Why are you involved in campaigning to end COVID monopolies?
It is horrifying that people are dying simply because they do not have access to a vaccine like I do. The UK government is directly responsible for preventing vaccines being made available globally and as a result 5 million people have already died. These people could still be alive if a handful of rich countries, including the UK, were not blocking the TRIPs waiver. This waiver would break monopolies on COVID treatments and vaccines which would allow many more people around the world to be vaccinated. It is appalling that most of our MPs would rather stay silent on this issue than stand up to the big pharmaceutical companies who are making billions by these monopolies being allowed to remain in place. By blocking the needed action that would end these monopolies, our government has not only proved itself to be immoral, but it is also betraying us and our NHS. If the vaccine is not made available globally it will mean that the risk of new variants emerging will massively increase, as we have already started seeing. Not only could this render current COVID treatments and the vaccines that have already been administered less effective, but it will also wreak havoc on our NHS and mean that people with long term health conditions like me will have to go back into shielding.
Why are you worried about the future of the NHS?
Like many others, I am only alive because I receive life saving treatment through the NHS. A decade of austerity has pushed the NHS to the brink and it’s terrifying to see the Conservative government hammering the final nail in its coffin by introducing the so-called Health & Care Bill. Fighting on the frontline of the global pandemic has tipped our NHS into crisis, but instead of funding it properly the government is handing our health service over to private companies. This bill represents a corporate takeover of our NHS which will further privatise our healthcare and give power to private companies who will prioritise profit over patients’ lives. The NHS was created because there was a dire need for it, and this need will never go away, but the NHS will only remain so long as people fight for it. My life depends on the NHS and so I will quite literally fight to the death for it. We can and must organise against any attacks on our NHS, and we can and must win.
My journey in and out of hospital for the last 13 years has not been an easy one, but to this day I am still blown away by the care that I receive as an NHS patient. I am forever grateful to everyone who keeps the NHS running - from the cleaners to the consultants - all are skilled beyond belief. There is no cure for my condition and the prognosis is that one day I will need a lung transplant, but for now I am looking forward to celebrating my 27th birthday on New Year’s Eve thanks to the vaccine, and raising a glass to the NHS for keeping me alive.