Birth of the NHS for text

Question 1

When was the National Health Service (NHS) created?

Answer 1

1948

Question 2

What was the NHS designed to provide?

Answer 2

Free health care in Britain

Question 3

Was there opposition to the creation of the NHS?

Answer 3

Yes, due to concerns about costs and doctors’ independence

Question 4

Who wrote the Beveridge Report in 1942

Answer 4

William Beveridge, a Liberal politician and social reformer

Question 5

What was the purpose of the Beveridge Report?

Answer 5

He recommended that the government should act to deal with what he called the ‘five giants’

Question 6

List the five giants of social welfare Beveridge identified

Answer 6

Idleness, ignorance, disease, want, squalor

Question 7

What caused ‘idleness’ in 1942 Britain?

Answer 7

A lack of employment opportunities

Question 8

What caused ‘ignorance’ in 1942 Britain?

Answer 8

People lacking a good education

Question 9

What was ‘disease’ caused by?

Answer 9

Unaffordable health care

Question 10

What was ‘squalor’ caused by?

Answer 10

Poor-quality housing

Question 11

What was ‘want’ caused by?

Answer 11

Poverty

Question 12

Who became Minister of Health after the 1945 general election?

Answer 12

Bevan

Question 13

Which party won the 1945 general election?

Answer 13

Labour Party

Question 14

What principles did Bevan base the NHS on?

Answer 14

The principles of the Beveridge Report

Question 15

Which group was concerned that doctors would lose their independence?

Answer 15

The General Medical Counci

Question 16

What did some politicians argue about the NHS’s cost?

Answer 16

They thought it would be too expensive and taxpayers should not pay.

Question 17

Who was the first patient treated by the NHS?

Answer 17

13-year-old Sylvia Diggory at Trafford General Hospital

Question 18

What services did the NHS initially include?

Answer 18

Eye tests, hearing tests, prescriptions, and hospital care

Question 19

How did the NHS ensure it was fully staffed?

Answer 19

Nurses and domestic workers were recruited from the Caribbean and Ireland

Question 20

When were prescription charges introduced?

Answer 20

1951

Question 21

Why did prescription charges become necessary?

Answer 21

To pay for the cost of the Korean War

Question 22

What was the initial budget for the NHS per year?

Answer 22

£437 million (equivalent to around £15 billion in 2021)

Question 23

What happened to Aneurin Bevan as a result of the introduction of prescription charges?

Answer 23

He resigned from the government

Question 24

What types of public health campaigns does the NHS run today?

Answer 24

Campaigns to encourage people to stop smoking, eat healthily, practise safe sex, and get vaccinated

Question 25

What is a major challenge the NHS faces today?

Answer 25

The cost of new treatments

Question 26

How does the NHS decide which services or medications to fund?

Answer 26

Decisions are made based on which medications and services can be paid for by the NHS and which cannot.