At midnight on 5th July 1948, the National Health Service was born with the founding principle to be free at the point of use and based on clinical need rather than on a person’s ability to pay. Seventy years since its formation, these core principles still hold true, although the world we now live in is a very different place to the post war era in which it was formed, and the long term sustainability of the service in its current form is questionable.
This book traces the history of our health service, from Victorian healthcare in the early 20th century, through a timeline of change to the current day, comparing the problems and illnesses of 1948 to those we face seventy years later. Politics, funding, and healthcare systems around the world are demystified and we present case studies, views and snapshots from history from people who have experienced our changing NHS.
thanks to the publishers and netgalley for a free copy of this updated version in return for an open and honest review.
This book has been updated for the COVID19 pandemic and retitled NHS the story so far , which looks at the origins of healthcare in England with poor laws and later the mixed healthcare until the creation of the NHS in 1948 and how the NHS has evolved over time with ever increasing demands to deliver free healthcare at the point of service and now in 2020 dealing with the onset of the COVID19 pandemic. The part I did like was the COVID19 diaries by frontline staff detailing the pressures of working during pandemic times.
This book is probably geared to the British public since they are the people who use the National Health System in the UK. I thought it might be interesting to give me some background since I am enamored of the PBS series Call the Midwife which is set in the 1950s and 60s when the British people of all walks of life were able to start getting free medical care. It was an interesting book if not a page turner as it detailed the history of this British institution. This was written before the coronavirus pandemic and from news reports, the NHS continues to be held in high esteem.
A book concerning the pre-inception to the current NHS system we have today, with the key dates, events and policy documents. The biographical entries are helpful to bring it all down to earth.