Describe How Health Care (Primary and Hospital) Was Provided Before the Nhs Was Introduced. What Were the Main Problems? What Were the Main Drivers for Change?

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The National Health Service (NHS) became operational on the 4th July 1948. It provided free health care for the entire population and was the first of its kind in any westernised society (Klein, 1983). However, what was healthcare like prior to this? And what were the main factors that influenced such radical reform to the British healthcare system? Over the course of this essay I will be discussing these issues. Pre NHS, there was still quite a lot of state involvement centred on the health and well-being of the population (Blackmore, 2007). Medical assistance had to be paid for at the point of delivery and this no doubt presented a great problem to people, especially the poor. To help somewhat combat this, The Poor law system of healthcare, first introduced in 1601 and later amended in 1834 under the ‘New’ Poor Law was in place in Britain. Workhouses were set up giving poverty stricken people a place to live, work, and receive food and medical attention. Conditions within these institutions were quite horrific, leading to them becoming a last resort for families in need, who seen them as the ultimate degradation (workhouses.org.uk). Over time some of the workhouses developed into hospitals or Poor Law infirmaries as they were known. It was here that people who had no means in which to pay for medical care could receive free treatment. Other types of hospitals also existed at this time:- A limited amount of Municipal Hospitals were also in place, these were run by the local authorities and over time began taking control over the poor law infirmaries. Voluntary hospitals, often run by local parishes offered free health care to patients in their area. In these hospitals consultants worked for free, instead gaining income through private practice. Funding for these hospitals was through donations from the wealthy, but as time went on and with contributions

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