From cradle to grave

The National Health Service, launched on 5 July 1948, promised free universal healthcare as a reward to the British people for their long sacrifices in the recent war. Britons would henceforth be cared for 'from the cradle to the grave'.

The new NHS was a great success, but hopes that by improving the nation's health it would reduce the burden on the system proved unrealistic. Spending quickly rocketed, and the government was forced to introduce dental charges to help fund it; prescription charges soon followed. But despite constant anxiety about its state, the NHS remains hugely popular and largely effective: costly and cumbersome, certainly, but the pride of Britain and the envy of others.

The National Health Service