Wherever we look, today’s headlines are that there are no beds left in hospitals. This is awful but not surprising news, and of course it comes only a couple of weeks after Christmas, the time we all read and sing of there being no room at the inn.
Back in December I was at a prayer meeting when a young doctor shared the burden and pressure faced in his ward due to bed pressure, staff shortages and the delicate decisions made on referrals and discharging patients.
This week I have heard someone talking of Christians in another city taking on roles to offer support in an A&E ward.
All this not only speaks to me of the excellent work and commitment of NHS staff but also of overburdening pressures.
I don’t want to get into blame and political point scoring, but I do want to cry out that this isn’t right.
We must not tolerate there being no room at the hospital. Now I know there was no room at the inn and that this was a mark of hope in that it spoke of the humility of God in Christ and the overturning, bottom up power of the Kingdom of God. But today we do need voices to be raised, we do need care to be offered and we do need support to be given to all NHS staff as well of course to those who are missing out on the beds.
Graham Brownlee
January 2018