Happy 70th birthday to the NHS
On 5 July, the National Health Service (NHS) celebrated its 70th anniversary. Every day the NHS supports more than 1.5 million patients and their families, but it needs more money to cope with the UK’s growing and ageing population.
Earlier this week, NHS England announced plans to stop providing certain treatments to save money. These 17 treatments, which include tonsil removal and surgery to stop people snoring, are performed 350,000 times a year, but often there are other options available. NHS England says that in the future, patients will only receive the treatment if they really need it. The health service hopes that by reducing these treatments, it will save around £200 million every year – money which could be used for more serious operations.
The medical director of NHS England, Professor Stephen Powis, says the health service could stop providing other treatments too. Not everyone’s happy. Matthew Bennett from Bracknell, Berkshire, told the BBC that severe tonsillitis caused his brother to miss university and lost him a job. “If he hadn’t had his tonsils out recently, he’d probably still be struggling with work,” he said.
On Saturday 30 June, thousands of people marched in London to celebrate the 70th birthday of the NHS, and to demand that the Government does more to keep it going for at least another 70 years. Around 40,000 people marched to Downing Street. Some of the marchers carried banners that read, “It’s our NHS”.
The NHS was launched on 5 July 1948 by Aneurin Bevan, the politician for healthcare at the time. Over the past 70 years, the NHS has saved countless lives.