I am a huge fan of the NHS. I think having a National Health Service is an absolutely fantastic thing for all of us, and I’ve done lots to campaign against the sneaky sell offs going on under the current government. (Look up #TTIP for the latest attack.)
But. At the same time, they do get some things wrong. Regular readers will recall the song and dance over Tigerboy and his breastfeeding, particularly the abuse of the word average, and the stress caused by one particular doctor who really didn’t seem to know what they were talking about. For your information, dear doc, he’s small. He’s still small, two years on. He’s at 9th centile on the charts for height (I suspect he’s a big higher for weight, but I haven’t weighed him for a while) but he’s perfectly healthy, active, has a fabulous appetite. And he’s still breastfeeding
After that whole experience, I should have complained. I should have complained for my sake, to get an apology. I should have complained for the sake of the parents and children behind me, who might not have known as much about breastfeeding, weight gain, what charts mean. Who might not have had supportive, well informed friends giving the other side of the story, and the courage for me to keep on feeding.
But I didn’t. Because I didn’t want to cause a fuss. Because I didn’t know what the process was. Because I was too caught up in just feeding a baby. And most of all, because I didn’t think it would make any difference.
When you’re a customer, and you can take your money somewhere else, you feel like a complaint can make a difference. It’s not the same with public service – and it should be. We should be able to have our voices heard, we should be responded to, it’s a service after all!
Which is running a campaign with a petition to make a difference to the complaints process. And when 50,000 people have signed up, we get to hear a unique track from George the Poet and music producer Jakwob. So please, sign the petition, spread the word.
Help Which at #UnmuteUK.
Disclosure: Sponsored post – this is a campaign I strongly believe in, and all opinions are my own.
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