From a people’s service to a system in crisis

When Britain celebrated Victory in Europe (VE) Day on May 8, 1945, the country was battered, exhausted — but determined to rebuild.

And perhaps no achievement symbolised the boldness of that post-war era more than the creation of the National Health Service (NHS).

Launched in 1948 by Aneurin Bevan under Clement Attlee’s Labour government, the NHS was a revolutionary promise:

Healthcare free at the point of use, available to all, funded by general taxation.

This wasn’t charity. It wasn’t a safety net for the poor. It was a universal public service — based on the conviction that access to health is a human right, not a market transaction.

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Hospitals, clinics, GPs, maternity services — all were brought together under the NHS banner, making Britain the first country to offer comprehensive healthcare to every citizen, regardless of income.

Bevan famously said the NHS would “lift the shadow of fear” from families who previously dreaded illness, injury, or unaffordable medical bills.

And for generations, it worked.

Today’s NHS: a system on the brink

Fast forward 80 years, and the NHS is still cherished by the British public. In survey after survey, it ranks as one of the institutions people feel proudest of.

But the cracks are undeniable.

• Funding shortfalls have plagued the NHS for decades, with budgets struggling to keep pace with rising demand.

• An ageing population means more complex, long-term care needs.

• Staffing crises have left hospitals and surgeries dangerously overstretched, with doctors and nurses burned out, demoralised, and underpaid.

• Privatisation has crept in, with private firms winning contracts to run services — often under the NHS logo — blurring the line between public and private care.

• Patients face record waiting times, shortages of essential services, and deepening health inequalities, particularly between wealthy and deprived areas.

The pandemic exposed these weaknesses brutally, but they didn’t begin with COVID — they are the product of years of political choices and policy drift.

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Why can’t we fix it?

Here’s the most painful question: Why, in 2025, can’t Britain fix its health system?

This is a country far richer than it was in 1948. We have an economy many times larger, advanced technologies, and enormous resources.

And yet:

• Politicians claim “we can’t afford” to properly fund the NHS.

• Successive governments dodge major reform, wary of political backlash or media attacks.

• The public is told to lower expectations, accept cutbacks, or embrace private options.

It’s a stunning contrast to the daring ambition of the Attlee years.

Then, with the country deep in debt, leaders didn’t flinch.

They recognised that rebuilding wasn’t a matter of money alone — it was a matter of national will.

Looking ahead: do we still believe?

As we mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, we need to ask:

Do we still believe in the vision of universal healthcare — and are we prepared to fight for it?

The NHS was never a finished project.

It requires constant renewal, reinvestment, and political courage.

If post-war Britain could build the NHS from the rubble, what’s stopping us, now, from saving and improving it?

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Share your NHS story

We want to hear from you.

• Have you or your family experienced NHS delays, cuts, or challenges?

• Do you work in healthcare — what is the reality you face on the frontline?

• What changes do you think Britain needs to rescue the NHS?

• Do you believe the country has the will to rebuild, or are we too cautious, too divided, too stuck?

• Email us your story at [email protected]
• Comment below or on our social media pages
• Share this article and help spread the conversation

The NHS was born from the boldness of a post-war generation. Will we be the generation that lets it fail — or the one that saves it?

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