‘Thanks to the election of Barack Obama will there now be equality of health care in the US?’

Recalling the screaming incident, in September I was at London’s O2 Arena bopping to Stevie Wonder. Somewhere between Superstition and I Wish, Stevie said: ‘God bless Obama,’ and brought the house down. The screams were so loud that you knew we were all wishing he would be elected. But in the venue, there lingered the thought that the US electorate, mired in centuries of racial suspicions, was way beyond the power of our wishes.

A few weeks later (the second event), our wishes came true. In the small hours of the morning, I was staring blurry eyed at the TV when I heard the election result. ‘Oh my God! It’s happened. Obama’s won.’ I screamed, flung open the front door and shouted.

I then started crying. The images on the TV moved from Chicago to London to Kenya, and people from all different backgrounds were dancing in the streets.

The result means so much to so many people and one person summed it up perfectly: ‘It gives us hope’.

I’d lost hope with the US on many levels. I’m deeply concerned about their healthcare system. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s worth watching Michael Moore’s documentary Sicko. The film is a damming indictment of the corporate insurance-dominated healthcare system. It’s a system in which doctors at the highest levels earn bonuses by prioritising accountancy over medical ethics.

Sicko shows how people have been left bankrupt trying to pay for medical care. It includes footage of a person being pushed out of a taxi and dumped on the doorstep of a public hospital. In the US insurance companies may decide you’re not covered after paying years of premiums to them.

And then along comes Obama. The expectations weigh so heavily on him that we are almost waiting for him to
walk on water.

It’s still transition time and Obama’s team is focused on a future they’d like to be America’s new reality – universal health care for all people. Let’s wish them luck.

Brian Belle-Fortune is a student practice facilitator at Great Ormond Street Hospital

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