‘The NHS is committed to providing quality care that meets the needs of everyone, is free at the point of need, and is based on a patient’s clinical need, not their ability to pay. The NHS will not exclude people because of their health status or ability to pay.’
On Saturday the 5th of July the National Health Service will celebrate 60 years of providing citizens of the United Kingdom with free healthcare regardless of their wealth or social standing. Born out of the report of the Inter-Departmental Committee on Social Insurance and Allied Services chaired by William Beveridge (better known as the Beveridge Report) the NHS was the key component of the then Labour government’s ambitious plans to create a Welfare State.
Despite various criticisms such as access controls and waiting list times the NHS has survived the first 60 years of its history relatively unscathed.
Currently the NHS faces significant challenges and scrutiny from a wide arc of society. On account of this many changes have been forecast for the NHS. The most extreme viewpoints argue that it is simply not sustainable as a service due to the increasing advancements in drugs and medical procedures. The outlook may not be this bleak but it is certain that the NHS will have to adapt in order to continuing serving the United Kingdom for the next 60 years.
The Spoken Word has a wide array of materials relating to the NHS. Such is the diversity of the collection that the following links will take the user to a selection of Spoken Word materials:
