The NHS in Relation to the Welfare State
The NHS in relation to the Welfare State The Beveridge report in 1942, illustrated five interrelated social problems, which the British Welfare State was designed to tackle, these were Want, Disease, Ignorance, Idleness and Squalor. (Moran, M et al 2001). This report was published in order to find a solution to Britain's social ill's, which had multiplied during the Great Depression of the 1930's and the experience of the Second World War. With the publication of this report it was realised that the Laissez-Faire style of government was inadequate in providing a safety net for the disadvantaged members of British society, and that a comprehensive system of welfare was required. Although the concept was in place, much of the system of welfare that we see today was not initiated until the Labour government came to power in 1945. They then passed key legislation such as The Family Allowance Act 1945, Housing Acts of 1946 and 1949 which brought about subsidy to tackle the housing problem. National Insurance acts of 1946 and 1948 which provided a comprehensive benefits system for all unemployed, disabled, elderly and survivors and The National Health Service Act 1948, (Budge, I et al 1998) which, initi
The fundamental principles of the service were to provide free health care for all, to be paid for by a system of taxation and National Insurance contributions. ated by Anuerin Bevan , who was Labour's Health Minister between 1945 and '51, provided Britain with the worlds first nationalised health service run solely on public funding to provide free health care for all. That state provision of welfare is inefficient because it creates a monopoly, and that it creates a climate of dependency which is difficult for the individual to break. The left's traditional thinking was to plough ever more resources into the NHS hoping that extra funds would succeed in modernising the system. General Practitioners worked much as they had before, but their revenue was now provided by the state, not their patients. Even as this essay is written the Prime Minister has been discussing some of the ideas that have emerged. On top of these figures the growth in spending is also set to grow by 5. These were given the task of strategic planning and were to provide more accountability and easier access to the various interest groups involved in the running of the health service. The Conservative leader Ian Duncan Smith, along with the shadow Health Secretary, is in the process of holding a series of seminars, which include open debate with health care professionals. These included powerful bodies such as the British Medical Association, whose power base was very strong and were able to exploit the division in public opinion, which existed because it was perceived as a first step to privatisation. New Labour, in coming to power, promised to abolish the internal market within the NHS, believing it to cost millions of pounds in administration costs, but since 1997 they have made no moves to do so, have endorsed the operating culture of the service and as yet haven't made any wholesale reform proposals. For example, the new right position is that welfare policies, by definition, limit the populations freedom to spend their money as they wish by imposing high rates of taxation. As the NHS, and the welfare state as a whole was founded on the Keynesian economic principle that full employment, and therefore full contribution from the population would be the norm, rising unemployment levels, and therefore a reduced budget has forced governments, particularly since the early 1970's, to look at the way the NHS is run. Even after it's publication, as the main parties are in agreement that Britain should seek to reform but also maintain the right to free health care, it only remains to be seen what changes the government will implement.
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Acceptance Essays
