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It's been 70 years since the NHS came into being and it's been providing free at point of use healthcare ever since
The NHS has grown since it's noble beginnings and is now the UK’s largest employer, with over 1
5 million staff from all over the world and more than 350 different careers. It runs on a budget of £126
3bn (2018-19) providing reassurance, care and much needed services. With celebrations running this week to mark the big milestone for NHS70 we've taken a look back at it's beginnings
Why was the NHS created? Before we had the NHS people had to pay for their healthcare
Apart from a few voluntary hospitals, hospitals charged patients for the care they received
Most people agreed before WW2 that health insurance should cover dependants of the wage-earner and that local hospitals and voluntary hospitals should merge
Then a 1944 white paper proposed local authorities controlled voluntary hospitals
When Labour came to power in 1945 Bevan thought the local authorities were too small to manage hospitals - instead he created a new hospital service bringing it all under one banner
In his book, In Place of Fear, Bevan stated: “Society becomes more wholesome, more serene, and spiritually healthier, if it knows that its citizens have at the back of their consciousness the knowledge that not only themselves, but all their fellows, have access, when ill, to the best that medical skill can provide
” The NHS in England and Wales was created by the National Health Service Act 1946
The National Health Service Bill passed through the House of Commons easily, despite Tory opposition, at second reading on 2 May 1946 by 359 votes to 172
Reflecting on the impact of the NHS, Bevan said: “I believe it will lift the shadow from millions of homes
” Timeline July 5, 1948 – the NHS was launched by Health Secretary Aneurin Bevan at Park Hospital in Manchester – it's now called the Trafford General Hospital
1952 - Prescription charges introduced 1953 DNA structure revealed 1958 – Polio and diphtheria vaccinations programme was launched 1960 – first UK kidney transplant took place at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary 1961 - The Pill made available 1967 - Abortion Act 1968 - First NHS heart transplant 1972 - CT scans introduced 1978 – World’s first test-tube baby, Louise Brown, is born 1979 – first successful bone marrow transplant on a child takes place 1986 – first Aids health campaign 1987 - Professor Sir Roy Calne and Professor John Wallwork carry out the world's first liver, heart and lung transplant at Papworth Hospital in Cambridge 1988 – breast screening was introduced 1991 - NHS trusts established 1994 - Organ donor register set up 2002 –first successful gene therapy 2012 – first person in the UK gets a hand transplant