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The NHS - Coggle Diagram
The NHS
successes of the NHS
- The NHS has made healthcare accessible to all members of the public.
- the NHS has made a major contribution to increasing life expectancy in the UK.
- there has been a continuing reduction in child mortality and in maternal mortality.
- there have been major medical breakthroughs in many areas, e.g. transplant surgery, cancer treatment etc.
- a wide range of services have been available, e.g. cancer screening, asthma clinics etc.
- there has been an increasing emphasis on preventative medicine, e.g. mass vaccination against a variety of illnesses and health campaigns, e.g. to reduce smoking.
- The NHS helped reduce the pressure many women felt as main carers.
5th July 1948
In spite of the opposition towards to the NHS, it started on the 5th July 1948. it was part of a series of reforms which aimed to use money from taxes to provide support "from the cradle to the grave". In terms of healthcare, the NHS provided many changes to Britain's Health System. these include:
- free medical treatment for all British citizens
- the nationalism of hospitals under the Ministry of Health and organised into regional health authorities.
- the creation of health centres to provide services like vaccinations, maternity care, district nurses etc.
- a better distribution of doctors around the country with GPs (general practitioners), opticians and dentists in every area.
Since its inception (starting point) in 1948, the NHS has a major contribution to the quality of healthcare and raising life expectancy in Britain. However, its successes particularly in raising life expectancies, has also helped to create new problems.
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failures of the NHS
- from the very start in 1948, the cost of providing care has increased, putting pressure on NHS budgets.
- the NHS is no longer completely free. as early as 1952 prescription charges were introduced. since then charges have been introduced on other services, e.g. eye tests and dental treatments. free prescriptions were re-introduced in Wales in 2007.
- lack of money means that there are now waiting lists for many operations. some people have been refused costly services and medicines.
- as life expectancy had increased so an increase in the aging population has put a greater pressure on the NHS.