Health Reforms Did they meet the needs of the British people?

Health- National Health Act, 1948 unified health care treatment, free at point of usage. The Act was delayed for 2 years, reasons being… Opposition to the bill, from the doctors with 40,814 (64%) against its introduction and only 4,734 in favour: Reasons being.. State direction, many felt the State was taking too active a part in Doctor’s work Loss of fee paying patients Ministry of Health poster: 'The seven rules of health'

NHS 1948 Aneurin Bevan, Health Minister decided to get doctors support by :- Allowing them use of beds in NHS hospitals for “private patients”. They could charge for consultancies. He set aside £66m to compensate doctors who were losing private practices Doctors were paid 75p per NHS patient in their practice Doctors in unfashionable practices were paid £ compensation By the day of introduction, 90%of doctors had signed up.

The NHS: Abolished most distinctions between rich and poor patients Increased the availability of health care; in ,000 patients saw specialists who would not have done so before 1939

The NHS: Campaigns of vaccination and prevention reduced scourges such as TB, polio and pneumonia Overall provision of hospitals, health centres, doctors,nurses and their medical knowledge increased Glaswegians queuing for X-ray screening for tuberculosis (TB) in George Square, on the final day of the campaign in 1957.

Health- NHS 1948 Expected initial demand would be high due to suppressed demand Estimated to cost £140m in 1948, it cost £208m. By 1950 estimated cost had risen to £358m Critics claimed it was wasteful and pandered to minor ailments. Others argued that not enough was being spent

Success Between 1946 and 1950 infant mortality rates fell 50% and childhood scourges like rickets and malnutrition were almost eliminated NHS was a major achievement unequalled in Europe photograph dates from around 1900.

Success Prescriptions rose from 5m per month before NHS to 13,5m in 1948 In its first year, 5m pairs of spectacles were given out 8m dental patients treated Charges were introduced by 1950 for both these services Those who could afford to pay were charged 50% of bill This led to Bevan, the Minister of Health, resigning in protest.

Criticisms: enormous expense and heavy burden on finances. Taxes only covered 9% of overall funding Inundated with a backlog of untreated problems Plans for new hospitals and health centres shelved

Overall Derrick Murphy “It was generally agreed before and during the war that health provision was unsatisfactory” Despite this arguably “the greatest single achievement in the Atlee government was undoubtedly the National Health Service”

Activity List the aims of the NHS Bill, piloted through Parliament by Aneurin Bevan, which became law in 1946 What evidence can you find to support the view that the National Health Service was an instant success with ordinary people?