Next year marks the 70th anniversary of the National Health Service. Over that period medicine has been revolutionised and lives transformed. The Health Service’s founding principles -of care for all, on the basis of need not ability to pay- have stood the test of time. During one of the most vigorous debates our country has seen -over Brexit- the NHS was centre stage.
The case for the NHS is straightforward. It does a good job for individual patients, offering high quality care for an ever-expanding range of conditions. It reduces insecurity for families, especially at times of economic uncertainty and dislocation, because access to care is not tied to your job or your income. And as one of the world’s most cost-effective health systems, it directly contributes to the success of the British economy.