The key policies and papers which defined the NHS

Since its creation in 1948, the NHS has undergone radical reforms. Here are some of the key policies which have helped define what the NHS is today:

1948: Aneurin Bevan

Services funded predominantly from general taxation;
Free at the point of delivery;
Comprehensive (maternity. emergency, primary and secondaty care);
Universal (available to all, regardless of ability to pay).

1997: New Labour

Set national standards (creation of NICE and NSFs);
Deliver high quality care (creation of clinical governance, implementation of lifelong learning for staff, modernised self-regulation);
Monitor standards (creation of the Commission for Health Improvement, national framework for assessing performance and annual national survey of patient and user experience of the NHS)

2000: NHS Plan (a plan for investment and reform)

To give people of Britain a health service for for the 21st century;
A health service designed around the patient;
Reduced waiting times and high quality care centred on patients;
More and better paid staff using new ways of working;
Investments in hospitals, primary care and IT;
Clear standards and regulation to ensure standards are met.

2002: Derek Wanless vision for 2022 (Securing our Future Health)

Comprehensive care for all;
Free of charge when needed;
Safe, high quality treatment;
Fast access;
Integrated joined up system;
IT is essential: access to date, electronic prescribing and health records;
Comfortable accomodation;
Patient-centred service, from informed consent to informed choice;
Minimum variation;
Social care is no longer a bottle neck.

2008: Darzi (High Quality Care for All)

High quality flexible benefits, defined as patient safety. clinical effectiveness & patient satisfaction;
Flexible and responsive to the needs of local communities;
Increased information about services and choices to the public;
Work in partnership and for all;
Services developed by clinical leaders, not top down;
No more reorganisation;
Care as close to home as possible, centralised when necessary;
Patient-centred integrated care pathways, with clinical networks;
Decreased variation and inequalities.

2010: Lansley (Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS)

NHS is genuinely centred on patients and carers;
Achieves quality and outcomes that are among the best in the world;
Refuses to tolerate unsafe and substandard care;
Eliminates discrimination and reduces inequalities of care;
Empowers clinicians and puts clinicians in the driving seat;
Frees providers to innovate, with stronger incentives to adopt best practice;
Is more transparent, with greater accountability for quality and results;
Gives citizens a greater say in how the NHS is run;
Is less insular and fragmented, and works much better across boundaries, including with local authorities and between hospitals and practices;
Is more efficient and dynamic, with less bureaucracy;
Is more stable and sustainable, free from political interference.
Click here for a more comprehensive summary of 2010 Lansley White paper.

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