Today 400,000 NHS health workers went on strike. When nurses, ambulance drivers, midwives and other highly committed care staff resort to industrial action you know things have become truly desperate. For most of the unions involved this is the first time in 30 years that they have resorted to strike action but for unions like the Royal College of Midwives it is the first time in the entire 133 years of their existence. My ex, Kit's mum, was out on the picket line this morning along with her fellow midwives in the rain and cold, I'm very proud of her. The response from the general public seems to have been overwhelmingly supportive, one lady even stopping her car, winding down the window and passing them a tray of coffee! The government are of course unmoved and dismissive which means there will have to be more action, more strike days. You can only push people so far, enough is enough.

This afternoon I was at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Hospital for the latest review by my consultant. The staff were still very psyched up including a senior nurse volubly discussing the effects of government policy over the last few years and commending the midwives for their solidarity with the rest of the staff, as she put it, coming out for the first time "since the dawn of time!" Normally one is used to the uncomfortable silences of professional impartiality whenever one talks to a therapist about the devastation being wrought in one's life by the brutal actions of the government and their ATOS hitmen, biting their tongues and attempting to put you in touch with charities and advisory groups that might help without actually venturing an opinion on the morality of the underlying problem - not today, today the Citizens and Citizenesses of the embattled national treasure that is our NHS were making sure they were heard. Stand firm Comrades!