Why Apathy is Bad for the NHS
At the recent start of the football season, comedian and ardent Wimbledon FC fan Geoff Norcott remarked that it was “time to put my mental wellbeing back in the hands of some blokes I’ve never met.” Like many football fans, Geoff’s emotions will rise and fall as he follows his team in another rollercoaster season. Such fans will get angry when their team loses. Angrier still if defeat follows defeat in a downward spiral of sub-par performances. In time though, that anger might become apathy . The lack of emotion arising as a form of mental self-defence as fans’ brains seek to protect them from misery. Experience taught them that their anger achieved nothing. I have observed something similar happening with our NHS. In recent years we have seen a steady downwards trend in NHS performance being met with anger from those that use it. Media headlines have decried appalling standards while highlighting particularly egregious examples of failure. That anger in the media and from pa...