The Coronavirus pandemic in 2020 has changed life as we know it and
thrust the NHS into the spotlight. A nation in lockdown has adorned
windows with rainbows and stepped onto doorsteps every Thursday to
celebrate the people who are risking their lives by turning up to work.
But as the grim reports of deaths from the disease cumulate, along with
stories of insufficient protective equipment for staff, there is hope
that the crisis will raise awareness and bring change to the way the NHS
and its people are treated.
At midnight on 5 July 1948, the National Health Service was born with
the founding principal to be free at the point of use and based on
clinical need rather than on a person's ability to pay. Over seventy
years since its formation, these core principals still hold true, but
the world has changed. Persistent underfunding has not kept pace with
increased demand for healthcare, leading to longer waiting times,
staffing shortages and low moral.
This book traces the history of our health service, from Victorian
healthcare and the early 20th century, through a timeline of change to
the current day, comparing the problems and illnesses of 1948 to those
we face today. Politics and funding are demystified and the effects of
the pandemic are discussed, alongside personal stories from frontline
staff and patients who have experienced our changing NHS.
