The cost of HS2, 106 billion pounds is ludicrous amount to invent. This is for the benefit of few. If the same amount is split between NHS, Education and in improving existing railway tracks, it would benefit all.
NHS is suffering due to shortage of medical staff. There are too many management levels. The current staff is working their guts off to meet the demand. Accident and emergency is overcrowded. Recently, I had been to hospital twice, once as an inpatient and another time in emergency. Both time my experience was excellent, however seeing other patient ( all ages) waiting to be seen with various health issues, I observed that nurses were rotating reception duty, first contact check of patients etc. There were two staff on the main reception, here I experienced different thing, I had rang 111 and they advice me to go to emergency and she will contact them to see you within an hour, when I arrived at the A&E, they told me there is no communication between them and 111. So there is the first gap. There are so many gaps like this in NHS, so The Government can put some of the money in NHS to improve effectively.
I am involved in Education system and I have noticed how schools are suffering with lack of funding. All the schools, nationwide are allocated fund at the beginning of term in September, then some school get some student from abroad to join at Easter. This has direct impact on funding because they have to provide special need teachers with languages that those children who joined do not speak English language. All these school have to manage in funds that’s been allocated by any which way and the knock on effect on Teaches causing anxiety and stress. If the Government can review the funding allocation every 6 months then schools may be able to manage.
I have been watching on the news how some railway network users are unhappy with service. Arriving late at work, school or college does not help them to concentrate and has impact on their life style and end up with stress and depression because they don’t have any alternate but to put up with incompetence of rail network. If the government invest some money into this and improve the network and tracks, put some more train on at peak time, this will create more employment as well.
In my opinion, instead of spending 106 Billion pound on just one route, the same amount can be spent on much needed and useful causes.
Mrs. Alka Gandhi JP
By email
