Impact of the NHS Objectives: To understand why the NHS was set up To investigate the impact of the NHS on people’s lives

What is the NHS The National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the publicly funded healthcare system which looks after the health of the UK from the cradle to the grave. The organisation provides the majority of healthcare in the UK, from doctors to Accident and Emergency departments, long-term healthcare and dentistry It pays for the health expenses, it also employs the doctors and nurses that provide them, and runs hospitals and clinics making treatment free when you need to use it.

Why do we have the NHS? The NHS came about because of concerns about poverty. It was clear that some people were not getting medical help simply because they could not afford to pay. After the war there was a strong feeling that things needed to be better for everyone. During the war people had become used to the government controlling their lives and they felt it should do more to tackle problems. The war meant that middle class and working class people living together. This caused the middle class to become increasingly aware of the conditions of working class children.

Beveridge Report In 1942 William Beveridge the Liberal MP was asked to write a report about the state of Britain and the effectiveness of social insurance. He identified five ‘Giant Evils’ that needed to be overcome. In 1945 the new Labour government led by Clement Atlee set out to solve the problems with a series of Welfare Reforms including in 1946 the National Health Service Act.

YOUR TASK Use photocopies, video and p344 in OCR and make a guidebook covering The NHS Why was it introduced? How was it different to previous care? What services does the NHS include? Was it well used when it was set up? Why were charges introduced? What impact it has it had on peoples lives?