2 The Development of the NHS 1951-1979 Flashcards
Macmillan’s 1962 Hospital Plan
- 90 new hospitals
- 356 refurbished hospitals
- 134 redesigned hospitals
BUT lots of funding went to london, reflecting inequalities.
how did conservatives regulate welfare spending in the 1960s?
relationship to labour
Tories maintained and increased Labour’s welfare spending in the 1960s.
NHS Impact on contraception.
- 1961 the pill, BUT increased risk of cancer, and men then took less responsibility for contraception
- free contraception in the 1970s
1967 Abortion Act
the right to terminate a baby was dependent on the approval of 2 (usually male) doctors.
it also cost £200 and was poorly regulated, which meant 72 maternal deaths between 1968-1970
Impact of the NHS on childbirth?
By 1978, 92% of women gave birth in a hospital, but 70-90% of these women were given an episiotomy, often without them knowing.
- however, maternal death rate fell from 1/1000 1948 to 0.18/1000 in 1970.
Impact of NHS on female employment?
in 1948, government attempted to employ 54,000 female nurses. But, women were often stuck in low income paying jobs.
inequality in the NHS
The Merrison Report 1979
What did it expose?
Hospitals recieved 70% of funding, but mental health, GPs, surgery recieved much less.
Inequality in the NHS
annual budget for middle class vs working class people?
£4.98 per head
vs
£3.19 per head
inequality in the nhs
middle class areas vs working class areas in terms of hospitals being built?
50% of hospitals in middle class areas built after 1900, 80% hospitals in working class areas built before 1900.
inequality in the nhs
1980 The Black Report
what did it expose?
working class women were 2x more likely to die in childbirth than middle class women
the inverse care law
the inverse care law meant there was surplus healthcare in middle class areas where it was less needed, but a healthcare deficit in working class areas where it was more needed by miners’ getting injured.
1957 Royal Commission for Mental illness and mental deficiency published the 1959 Mental Health Act. What demands did it contain?
- mentally ill people must be referred to as ‘mentally ill’ rather than ‘insane’
- ‘open door policy’ meaning treatment sessions could be in the day rather than forcing a patient into long term treatment.
- decisions over treatment were to be made by mental health tribunals not judges.
[mental health act] why could the demands not be met?
there were not enough beds, patients were often admitted to non-specialist hospitals instead.
Between 1967-1981: mental health enquiries
how many? what were the results?
25 seperate enquiries into abuse in psychiatric hospitals. But, there was no major reform until the 1980s, and these were largely ignored before this.
Sir Keith Joseph [conservative secretary of state for social services] reform?
what act…?
NHS Reorganisation Act 1973 meant a growth in costs 1974-1979.