Universal health care--60 years of the British National Health Service 1948-2008

The British National Health Service (NHS) is now 60 years old, affording an opportunity to examine its performance as a government-funded health plan covering all citizens. It opened in 1948 and by 1949 patients' demands on services far exceededestimates. Since then spendinghas increased yearly...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inConnecticut medicine Vol. 72; no. 10; p. 593
Main Author Roberts, Melville P
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.11.2008
Subjects
Europe
Female
History, 20th Century
History, 21st Century
Humans
Male
Neoplasms - mortality
State Medicine - economics
State Medicine - history
State Medicine - organization & administration
United Kingdom
Waiting Lists
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Summary:The British National Health Service (NHS) is now 60 years old, affording an opportunity to examine its performance as a government-funded health plan covering all citizens. It opened in 1948 and by 1949 patients' demands on services far exceededestimates. Since then spendinghas increased yearly. There have been manyrecurringproblems particularly limitation of services due to underfunding and long waiting lists for treatments reaching a high of 1,263,000 patients awaiting hospital admission in 1998. In an attempt to solve its problems the NHS has been reorganized frequently. Major redesigns have occurredwith each newgovernment, accompaniedby increased costs andagrowingbureaucracy.Administrative and clerical staff grew from 29,021 in 1951 to 280,692 (+867%) in 2005. Significant problems continue. The NHS is an example of what can go wrong with a wholly government funded universal health care plan that is free at the point of delivery.
ISSN:0010-6178