Dashboard confessional: In Wales furious over incompetent health service and inadequate road traffic regulations

As I write this, a measles epidemic has been declared in south-east Wales, where I live. Apparently, in the last few weeks, four people have been diagnosed with measles near our house.

Beverley Griggs, described as a “public health consultant in Wales and chair of the multi-agency epidemic control team”, told the Caerphilly Observer: “Measles is a highly infectious disease and cases have been rising in the UK and Europe in recent months, so the development this one is not unexpected.

“With clear evidence of spread of measles from the initial case, we have declared a measles outbreak in the Gwent area.”

In February, Sir Frank Atherton, Wales’ chief medical officer, apparently warned that measles outbreaks could become more common in Wales unless urgent action is taken. Sir Frank “urged parents to ensure their children are up to date on their childhood vaccinations.”

Meanwhile, despite this news and despite my best efforts as a parent, my four-month-old son has not received a single vaccination.

We canceled two appointments with the explanation that no one at the GP practice – not even a single doctor or nurse – was trained to administer vaccines to children. This is of course impossible, because any qualified doctor is able to administer injections, but no, for this you need to train someone, and it will take some time.

One of my many attempts by parents to vaccinate their child – this time calling my clinic to ask what was going on and if there was another place I could go and vaccinate my child – was met with the response: “No I don’t know, I’m just working at the reception. I admit that I yelled at the person and then hung up the phone.

I’m finding it increasingly difficult to live in Wales and be a polite person. Every time I leave the house, I feel like I might as well go straight to the confessional and apologize in advance for all the angry and violent thoughts that go through my head or even come out of my mouth throughout the day.

I have just finished another medical battle specific to Wales, which involved trying to resolve my son’s tongue tie problem, which makes breastfeeding difficult and may cause speech problems and other issues later in life.

According to NHS Wales, tongue tie is not a problem and should be dealt with by cutting the fold of tissue that connects the tongue to the floor of the mouth; a procedure lasting a fraction of a second, during which almost no blood is produced and which the child immediately forgets about – this is “mutilation”. However, if you are abroad in England, the NHS will be able to help you with this problem without any problems.

Every morning I’m faced with a series of pointless 20mph speed zones on school grounds – a brilliant new solution introduced by the Labor government in Wales. One such zone is located on a long stretch of road where there is no house and often no pedestrians in sight.

First I’m filled with rage when I see the signs, then joy when I see that 90 percent of the cars are still going 40 miles an hour on this road anyway. I can’t help but think that my emotional energy could be used more profitably in other ways.

A friend who runs a shop in our nearest town was asked one day by a visiting media team if she would like to meet Vaughan Gething.

This friend, an intelligent and articulate member of the local community, replied, “Who is Vaughan Gething?” When she told our Pilates class this, six out of eight of us asked the same question.

For those who don’t know, Vaughan Gething is the First Minister of Wales. He replaces Mark Drakeford, who stepped down a month ago. He leads the Welsh government, although most people don’t even know who he is.

“Then they wouldn’t let me meet Vaughan Gething,” my friend said, and we all laughed. But what an utterly depressing state of affairs it is that so many of us have become so discouraged.

An excellent article in The Telegraph titled ‘Mark Drakeford’s Wales: How to Ruin a Country’ details how this came to be – my stories are merely anecdotal.

My mother, who fled communist Poland 45 years ago, says this is all too familiar to her. On the other hand, we can at least say with some certainty that the Catholic Church will not be affected. In any case, judging by what has happened in Poland, it may intensify as everyday life becomes more and more unbearable.

And in the meantime, maybe I’ll become a better person after all this time spent confessing my ugly thoughts and rage.

The article originally appeared in the May 2024 issue of “Majówka”. Catholic Herald. To subscribe to our award-winning, thought-provoking magazine and receive independent, high-quality, countercultural Catholic journalism delivered to your door anywhere in the world, click Here.