An extremely short history of the NHS
The key Acts of Parliament or reports in each decade, and lead political parties, which have moulded what we see today, are described.
1910s
First state-funded healthcare – National Insurance Act 1911, Lloyd George (Liberal). Working men could, for the first time, receive part state-funded healthcare, choosing a GP from a ‘panel’ of doctors
1940s
Start of NHS – NHS Act 1946, with NHS starting on 5th July 1948 (Aneurin Bevan) (Labour)
1950s
Normalising mental health – Mental Health Act 1959 (Conservative)
1960s
Modernising hospitals and ‘swinging sixties’ – Hospital Plan (1962) (Conservative); NHS Family Planning and Abortion Acts 1967 (Labour)
1970s
Reorganisation – NHS Reorganisation Act 1973 (Labour)
1980s
Inequalities in healthcare, and NHS management – Black (1980) and Griffiths Reports (1983) (Conservative)
1990s
Internal market – NHS and Community Care Act 1990 (Conservative)
2000s
Internal market, targets and scandals (Shipman, Bristol and Alder Hey) – Health and Social Care Bill (2001) (Labour)
2010s
Competition – Health and Social Care Act 2012 (Conservative)
2020s
Covid-19 and Integration – Health and Care Act 2022 (Conservative)
Summary
That is an extremely short history of the NHS. If you want to know more, see below.
Other resources
The Health Foundation have an extremely good timeline here.
The Nuffield Trust has a detailed history of the NHS here.
The BBC has historical charts here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf9L7O6LSzw
Last Reviewed on 28 January 2024