The NHS is under threat. Only a new model of care will save it | Kailash Chand

The government’s refusal to embrace prevention rather than treatment as the way forward is putting Britain’s greatest post-war achievement in jeopardy

The NHS will celebrate its 70th birthday this year. Last month, Jeremy Hunt credited the Tory party for its formation. History tells a different story. The National Health Service was introduced in 1948 by Clement Attlee’s Labour government. The Conservatives consistently voted against it.

Before 1948, the have-nots feared ill health. Not for the reasons you or I fear it, but because they had no means to pay for treatment. Harry Leslie Smith has educated us all on how the fear of ill health gripped the poor before the creation of the NHS. The creation of a universal healthcare system, free at the point of use, was Britain’s greatest post-war achievement.

A shortage of doctors, nurses, beds and care packages for elderly patients means that black alerts, trolleys in corridors and dangerous safety levels are ​at a peak

Related: The NHS turns 70 this year, and it’s Britain’s greatest medical innovation | Bruce Keogh

Related: Health reform should start by looking at the first and last days of life | Richard Vize

Continue reading... January 04, 2018 at 06:04PM