The NHS or National Health Service is the name used for the UK’s public health service. It was established in 1948 as one of the major social reforms decided after the Second World War. it was founded upon these main principles. That the services should be comprehensive, universal and free. UK residents are not charged for the treatment they receive. Citizens within the EU containing a European Heath Card can receive emergency treatment at no cost. Along with persons from countries with which the UK has reciprocal arrangements concerning health care.
Funding
The funding of the NHS comes 98.8 percent from general taxation and National Insurance contributions along with donations. The 2008/9 budget roughly equates to a contribution of £1,980 per person in the UK. When Launched the NHS budget was around £437 million however it received more than £100 billion in 2008/2009. 60 percent of the NHS budget is used to pay staff. With a further 20 percent paying for drugs and other supplies.
Disabled doctors warn they are being denied reasonable adjustments across the NHS, putting careers, patient safety, and wellbeing at risk despite legal protections.
The UK-US pharma deal removes tariffs, boosts NHS access to innovative medicines, and drives significant life-sciences investment, safeguarding patients and industry growth.
Resident doctors in England have announced strike action from 17–22 December amid a growing dispute over pay, warning that years of real-terms wage cuts and staff shortages are putting the NHS under extreme pressure.
A UK inquiry finds that around 23,000 deaths in England could have been prevented if the national lockdown had begun a week earlier in March 2020, highlighting major government failings during the pandemic.
Venous leg ulcers represent a significant socioeconomic burden, costing the NHS over £3 billion each year. These ulcers can lead to life-altering challenges for patients, impacting both their mental and physical health. Lorna Rothery spoke with Professor Dan Carradice, a specialist in vascular surgery, about why early treatment must be a national priority.
The UK government is preparing to expand community-based healthcare as part of a new plan to cut NHS waiting times, boost productivity, and modernise the system.
A new immunotherapy for a severe form of blood cancer will soon be available on the NHS, offering new hope to adults whose disease has returned or stopped responding to conventional treatment.
Automation offers the NHS a proven, scalable route to higher productivity, better value and more time for patient care, explain Jo Bowers, Associate Director and James Davies, Head of Digital Productivity at Transformation Partners in Health and Care (TPHC).
David Wyndham Lewis, Health and Life Science Partner at Atos, explores how smart digital health systems can create a sustainable model for future-ready healthcare.
Striking for 236 days, phlebotomists at Gloucestershire Hospitals are now staging a rally in Gloucester. UNISON calls it the longest-running strike in NHS history, over demands for fair pay and re-banding.
The Department of Health and Social Care publishes its accounting officer assessment of the NHS Electronic Staff Record Transformation Programme, evaluating costs, benefits, and implementation risks.
The government announces that over £1 billion a year will be freed from NHS bureaucracy through reform, redirecting funds into patient care and frontline services.
