The National Health Service (NHS) was founded in 1948 with the intention that healthcare should be available to all regardless of wealth (NHS constitution, 2013). When it was launched, it was based on three key principles: That it meet the need of everyone, That it be free at the point of delivery and that it be based on the clinical need, not the need to pay (NHS Constitution, 2013).
67 years later the NHS is facing a number of problems which threaten to overwhelm the NHS, ranging from an Ageing society, the rise of long term conditions coupled with increasing costs of care within constrained public resources, obesity and high blood pressure (Department of Health, 2015). This essay will explore the question of how the NHS can only survive
…show more content…
There is now a concerted effort to bring prevention of a disease/illness to the forefront of the NHS with the establishment of an NHS prevention programme and the need to re-focus attention on how people lead their lives, the impact of social circumstances on their health and the opportunities that we have to influence own …show more content…
The government has a well-developed and wide-ranging programme to increase levels of physical activity (Department of Health, 2015). Included in their health promotion schemes are: investing £222 million in programmes such as Physical Education in schools, Change for life sports clubs, messages to increase the amount of cycling and walking undertaken, publicity campaigns including sport England’s This Girl Campaign (Department of Health, 2015) and working with organisations to promote healthy living including subsided gym
...nts of Health and the Prevention of Health Inequities. Retrieved 2014, from Australian Medical Association: https://ama.com.au/position-statement/social-determinants-health-and-prevention-health-inequities-2007
‘Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation’ is a white paper which was initiated in 1999. The Department of Health (DOH) ordered strategies aimed at reducing ill-health with specific attention to cancer, coronary heart disease and stroke, accidents, and mental health. £21billion over 10years was given to the NHS to ensure a target of 20% reduction in deaths associated with these conditions.
The original ethos behind the NHS was the belief that, through the provision of universal and complete health care, free at the point of provision, the NHS would eliminate significant disease and thereby work itself out of a job. Clearly a naive view by today's standards, this ethic remains one of the problems of the NHS today: the electorate still believes that there is intrinsic value in a universal and complete NHS, although no-one can agree on exactly what constitutes 'complete' health care, and none can say what the actual benefit of attempting to provide this (rather than rationed care)...
The changes to health policy and the re-organisation of the NHS in recent years which has led to improve integrated governance, has all developed as a result of the catastrophic failings that occurred in Mid-Staffordshire healthcare Trust. The Secretary of State for health, Andrew Lansley, announced a full public inquiry to parliament on the 9th June 2009 into the role of the commissioning, supervisory and regulatory bodies in the monitoring of Mid-Staffordshire Foundation Trust (Midstaff inquiry online, 2013). This inquiry was led by Robert Francis QC, who proposed recommendations to ensure that similar events do not repeat in future. The Francis report made 290 recommendations which included improved support for compassionate, caring and committed care, as well as stronger healthcare leadership (Health Foundation Online, 2014).
The history of the NHS from being chaotic to having an organised st ructure. The structure of the NHS is divided into local authority and social service, hospital services and general practitioners including specialist care. When the NHS was developed, there was no prediction of how much all the services would cost to run. The government introduced the first service charges for dentures in 1951and prescription and spectacle’s in 1952 this could have been due to everyone needing medical care at the same time. This also suggests that individuals health improved, likely to live longer and would need more services in the future which the government realised would be unrealistic to achieve. Even then, as it is currently, it remains difficult
In this essay I will analyse the origins of Community Care and what benefits emerged when the NHS Community Care Act 1990 was established. Later on, I will explain and critically evaluate the effects of privatisation in social care and health.
The NHS was then finalised during 1948, the main role of the NHS was to reduce health inequalities throughout Britain, so that everyone could be treated the same way, whatever their finance stability, job status and location. They believed that this programme should have reduced inequalities throughout Britain. It was created by Aneurin Bevan and Edwin Chadwick but it was successful until the Prime Minister at the time who was Margaret Thatcher accepted the Bill through Parliament. The NHS included the Public Health Acts such as maternal and child welfare, availability for beds in hospitals and General Doctors in local areas. The NHS also included things such as Vaccinations and Immunisations and social work skills such as home helps and also
...e crucial change needed in health services delivery, with the aim of transforming the current deteriorated system into a true “health care” system. (ANA, 2010)
Donnelly GF (2003). Why Leadership is important to nursing. In S Austin, M Brewer, G,
Public health is a concept that will always be subject to conflicting opinion. Over the year’s different ‘models’ of health have been formulated in order to categorise public health into dominant areas of cause and effect. The two models in which this essay will be focusing on are the Biomedical Model and the Lifestyle Theory Model. Although both models have equally arguable advantages and disadvantages, it is difficult to state either model as being ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ in defining the correct pathway to resolving the central health issues of today.
The purpose of this essay is to introduce the history of the National Health Service (NHS) and how its formation derived from the early 1600s. It will analyse two current political issues that occur within the NHS, the postcode lottery and the reformation of the NHS, examining the positive and negative effects they have had. It will also discuss implications of regulations within professional practice and how they account for quality of care.
The NHS was founded on similar principles as Canada- universal, free to a point, equitable and paid by central funding (Grosios et al, 2010). Over the years, the NHS has seen numerous organizational and political changes, but still remains universal and offers care to people who need it and are not able to pay for it. The NHS is funded by national insurance contributions and taxes. The healthcare policy and healthcare delivery is a responsibility of the central government in England, whereas in Wales, Scotland and Northern Island it is the responsibility of the local governments. In the UK, the NHS is composed of two major sections- one which deals with policy, strategy and management and other section that deals with medical care; this department is further subdivided into community care, pharmacy, dentistry and general medical practice. In Britain there are many barriers in seeking specialty care; one has to see a general practitioner first, who is a gate keeper and decides on where and who gets specialty care. It can often take years to bypass this gatekeeper because there are very few specialists in the country. In the past two decades, there has been a major shift in funding moving away from central government to local counties. The UK healthcare center is facing cutbacks in funding and complaints of long waits to see surgeons and specialists is common.
Participation in sport, particularly in adults is shown to be rapidly decreasing. In The general Household Survey (2002, cited in National statistics) it was discovered that with the exclusion of walking, only 43% of the population had participated in some form of exercise in the four weeks prior to the research interview. It is accepted with recent statistics that participation rates in the UK are not adhering to the advised five times a week from the Department of Health, the author feels this is a worrying reality as there are many health implications resulting from a national neglect towards exercise.
Heath, I. (2005), ‘Who needs health care- the well or the sick?’ in British Medical Journal, 330: 954-956.
The objective of this project shall identify the extent to which the principle of equity underpins government strategy in contemporary Irish health policy. In order to examine this principle, the essay will focus on the health services for older people. Such services are an important topic to address in modern day Irish society because the population of those aged over 65 is set to increase considerably which will cause particular economic and social implications for healthcare services in the future. Initially the paper shall provide a foundation of historical developments that have emerged within the Irish Healthcare system and highlight social policy implementations that have occurred. Following this, the paper will go on to discuss 'equity' with emphasis placed on the importance of effective policy measures to safeguard the equity and fair treatment of the elderly within the Irish healthcare system. Inference shall be made to the medical card scheme, hospital bed waiting lists, services for elderly people and the equity issues involving public and private healthcare. It shall also examine government policy papers in terms of how the two-tiered health system shows evidence of inequality that goes against the code of equity sought out by the `Quality and Fairness' (2001) report. Finally this essay will finish with a conclusion of the overall discussion.