Labour social reforms 1945-51 - Health

2. The NHS
The 1945-51 governments
are remembered for many
things but the most famous is
setting up the NHS in 1948.
The National Health Service
aimed to eradicate the Giant
of disease by offering
healthcare to all.

3. The NHS
The NHS had three aims:
• Universal access
• Treat all medical problems
• Free at the point of use
Medical care was to be based
on need, not a person’s
money or background.

4. The NHS
Under the NHS, patients
could access a range of
treatments that previously
they might have been
denied, including:
• Spectacles
• False teeth
• Maternity services

5. The NHS
Introducing the NHS
meant that everyone in
Britain could now get
healthcare.
Before this ,more than
half of the British
population had no
medical cover, meaning
they often went without
treatment.

6. The NHS
One problem with the
NHS was that many
hospitals were out-of-
date and in a poor
condition.
This limited the
effectiveness of the
treatment that patients
received from the NHS.

7. NHS costs
The NHS was very
popular – and so it also
proved to be very
expensive.
In the first year, it cost
£240 million to run. This
was £140 million more
than had been expected.

8. Prescriptions
The introduction of the
NHS hugely increased
the numbers of people
accessing prescriptions.
This increased from 7
million prescriptions per
month before the NHS to
13.5 million per month by
September 1948.

9. Prescriptions
The costs of running the
NHS were very high. In
1951 Labour voted to
introduce prescription
charges, which then
happened in 1952.
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This undermined the
goals of a ‘free’ health
service.

10. Prescriptions
Although NHS costs were
high, this proved that
many people were getting
treatment, unlike before
the service was
introduced.
In addition, poor people
did not have to pay for
prescription charges.

11. NHS staffing
When the NHS was
introduced, this meant
that there now 480,000
hospital beds available
in England and Wales.
There were also 125,000
nurses and 5000
consultant doctors.

12. NHS staffing
By 1948, it was estimated
that there was a shortage
of another 48,000
nurses.
In addition, many doctors
and dentists had
opposed the NHS and
some refused to work in
the service.

13. NHS staffing
A shortage of staff meant
that fewer people could
get the medical treatment
that they needed.
This undermined the
NHS’s aims to ensure that
all people were given
medical help.

14. NHS staffing
In 1949, a major staff
recruitment campaign
began.
By 1952, there were now
245,000 nurses
employed in the NHS,
ensuring more people
were able to get
treatment.

15. * LINKS *
New welfare benefits
ensured more people had
better diets, improving
their general health.
New housing also tackled
health problems such as
caused by living in poor
quality accommodation.