DH - Sixty years of the National Health Service: a proud past and a healthy future – 2 July 08

• Extract from : http://tinyurl.com/6mqk3l

A short history of the NHS to celebrate its 60th birthday, based on the remarkable experiences of staff who have worked for the NHS over decades, as well as patients whose lives have been transformed through treatment. 'Sixty years of the NHS - a proud past and a healthy future' tells the story of how the NHS came about, how it has developed over the years and its focus for the future.

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• Local Copy

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Foreword by the Prime Minister
For me, Britain’s National Health Service is a clear, enduring and practical expression of the shared values that shape our country – built upon the conviction that the health of each of us depends upon the contributions of all of us.

Since its creation by Aneurin Bevan 60 years ago, the NHS has cared for tens of millions of people and saved many hundreds of thousands of lives. It has been at the forefront of innovation in healthcare, pioneering advances in medical treatment, in surgery and in imaging. And it has liberated all of us from the fear of unaffordable treatment and untreated illness.

While many changes and reforms have been made to the health service over the years, it is a testament to Bevan’s vision that the core of the NHS – providing the highest standards of treatment and care, free for all at the point of need regardless of wealth or position – have remained with us to this day.

Of course, six decades after its formation, it is right that we look ahead and renew our NHS to meet the challenges ahead.

The ever-increasing pace of technological change, bringing with it ever more effective cures and interventions, means that the NHS must continuously adapt to improve the quality of care that it provides.

As people’s expectations rise, the NHS must become more responsive to the personal needs of each individual patient. As our population ages, we must improve the management of long-term conditions.

And the NHS of the future needs to do more than just treat patients who are ill, it must also be a preventative NHS – with patients taking greater control over their own health and professionals empowered to become advocates for this new ‘user power’.

These are the challenges for the next 60 years, but I believe we can only meet them by remaining true to the values on which the NHS was founded – free at the point of use, open to all and rooted in the British belief in fairness and compassion.
Gordon Brown

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