The NHS connects every one of us here in the UK. This year, also running parallel to Windrush, the National Health Service reaches its 75th anniversary (NHS 75), with space to celebrate the people, achievements and milestones behind what is today the second largest healthcare system in the world.
During the challenging times of the Covid-19 pandemic, my grandpa spent the last week of his life at the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford, within the NHS. This remarkable healthcare system provides an unwavering thread that weaves through every stage of life, from birth to death, linking us together across a network of hospitals and facilities.
Delivering the NHS
NHS Day, traditionally observed on July 5th, 1948, marks a historic milestone. On this day, Minister of Health Aneurin Bevan inaugurated the NHS at Manchester’s Park Hospital, under the innovative post-war government of Prime Minister Attlee. This landmark moment materialised a sentiment that had been growing in political circles for several years: the provision of healthcare for all, regardless of socioeconomic background.
Various significant events within and outside of mainstream politics contributed to this progress. The publication of Dr. A.J. Cronin’s novel “The Citadel” in 1937, which critically examined the existing healthcare system through the story of a newly-qualified and idealistic doctor, had a profound impact. Additionally, the influential Beveridge Report of 1942, which recommended the establishment of comprehensive health and rehabilitation services, further propelled the movement.
The Minister of Health in 1944 Henry Willink put the initial plan to paper, offering guidelines for the NHS that were endorsed by the Cabinet and then carried through by his successor. Bevan took the founding principles of funding and national entitlement and ran with them, elevating the campaign to three key essentials: services that would help everyone, free healthcare and care to be provided on the basis of need, not on the ability to pay.
A revolution in public healthcare
It goes without saying that the healthcare landscape in the UK has changed forever. Often, change is met with resistance and periods of flux, something that only then highlights the exceptional resilience of the people working within that great change. For comprehensive care to be provided, free at the point of delivery, charges and expenditure saw periods of regression and periods of growth, but a single factor endured: the commitment to advancement wherever possible.
To that end, the NHS has seen new ways of management over the years, along with other key milestones through the generations. For example, general practice clinics were introduced, medical research saw broad advances and the emergence of more specialised services played out alongside developments in the availability of medicines. To name a few? The world’s first liver, heart and lung transplant in 1987 and the development and fitting of revolutionary bionic eyes in blind patients. Stories such as these are important to remember when, in more recent years, issues of funding and demand on resources have come to the fore.
Cochlear implant surgery.
The People
There’s an enduring and important narrative behind our perception of the NHS, the dialogue surrounding its people. Faces, voices and stories cannot go unnoticed when it comes to the dedication and commitment of NHS staff. Servicing the public, there is a tireless, challenging and courageous effort to ensure the health and wellbeing of all patients. To commemorate the 75th anniversary, an important archive of recordings has been made available by the British Library. This record captures a diverse oral history combining interviews from ‘NHS at 70’ and ‘NHS Voices of COVID-19’ and is a growing collection with upwards of 2,000 contributions.
The significance? Recognition and awareness for individuals such as Dame Professor Elizabeth Anionwu (who helped to develop services for people with sickle cell), Mary Good (who was involved in the development of neonatal care) and Norman Sharp (who was treated by the NHS throughout his lifetime for septic arthritis). Thanks to their testament, a human picture of the NHS beyond the institution is being painted for generations to come.
Shaping healthcare policies
Remaining at the forefront of advancement and innovation within the field, the NHS is and always has been a medical pioneer. Whether making groundbreaking breakthroughs in organ transplantation, rolling out comprehensive and responsive vaccination programs in real time during periods of critical need or using technological advances to deliver futuristic healthcare, the NHS has played a considerable role in shaping healthcare policies and even impacting global healthcare systems.
Medical staff were on hand with a mobile NHS Vaccination on Wheels van at a retail park in Slough. Patients were able to come and have their Covid-19 vaccinations or their Covid-19 booster jabs without having to pre-book.
No journey is without its challenges
Public record over the years demonstrates ongoing crises and crisis response direct from the NHS. From this highly pressurised and often restricted environment, there’s a great deal of resilience and adaptability at play across the NHS. Indeed, the NHS should take a great deal of pride in the pandemic response, yet its after-effects have shaken this and other global healthcare systems to their core.
Recovery takes time and the most ambitious catch-up programme in health service history is already underway thanks to the existence of our NHS. Where is this happening? Last summer, hospitals across England banded together to alleviate the longest wait times for elective care. Eighteen-month waits fell from a high of almost 125,000 to under 33,000 by February 2023.
Fundamentally, as outlined by the NHS Support Federation, underfunding, unprotected budgets, service cuts, recruitment and bed shortages have been recent hard-hitters still to be navigated and overcome.
A nurse at a workstation in an NHS Hospital ward. The NHS is under increasing pressure with lack of funding.
Looking to the future of the NHS
So what of the future? To ensure the sustainability and effectiveness of the NHS model in a rapidly evolving landscape, the institution is focusing on leveraging IT and data to enhance outcomes. This entails integrating health and social care, prioritising investments in preventive health measures, and accelerating advancements in 21st-century genomics-based medicine. By embracing these strategies, the NHS aims to adapt to the changing needs of the population, deliver more efficient care, and improve overall health outcomes.
Today’s NHS workforce is represented by over 200 nationalities, working above and beyond to beat constraints and safeguard this critical healthcare system. Continued public support and investment are simple ways that we can ensure the NHS is secure for years to come.
Glastonbury, UK. 24th June, 2023. Celebrating 75 years of the NHS - Poet Miles Chambers (Bristol's first poet Laureate) - with help from some of the local Somerset NHS 'heroes' (Dr Rebecca Hall in pink, a nurse and a local Physio) - puts the spotlight on 75 Years of the NHS with a poem.
NHS 75
The 75th anniversary of the NHS comes at a time of reflection and consideration, crystallised by shared, common experiences. An unwavering commitment to care and compassion defines the NHS, from the seed of an idea to its role as a global healthcare leader, it remains an enduring symbol of solidarity, resilience, and hope.
Personally, I’m brought back to the empathetically delivered calls during the pandemic updating my family of my grandpa’s condition and stories from my mum of the lovely Jamaican nurse who was quite taken with me as a baby on the maternity ward. Whatever the end, there’s always a new beginning.
If you’re looking to consider, talk about or promote the role of the NHS in society both past and present, it’s well-worth taking a look through all of the records that are available. From the British Library to the NHS site itself to our own visual chronicle, think about the stories and legacy that NHS 75 represents.
NHS Anniversary Celebration mural.