I well recall life before the N.H.S. It was a health struggle for the vast majority of the population. In Birmingham we had the Hospital Saturday Fund, to which my parents contributed. This fund helped many people, including myself, but some type of health insurance was offered by many of the assurance companies. I recall the Birmingham Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital. You did not have an appointment, but would sit in the queue, in main hall, until your turn came with "Next".
In 1948 the National Health Service was vastly different from todays N.H.S. Of course, there was the usual hospital patients, operations, A & E patients etcetera, but life was much more simple. For me, one of the biggest changes has been in hospital staff. In 1948 Hospital Doctors Sisters, Nurses were recognisable, (Matron in grey, Sister in dark blue and nurse in either light blue, or light green, all with their own recognisable head gear), and highly respected. Today, our local N.H.S Trust hospital has over 35 various uniforms. I have no idea of who is who.
In 1948, very few people had telephones, so the local, usually white ambulance, with the vehicle bell ringing, often, would not have arrived within the now stipulated eight minutes. That is, after the crew had worked out how to find the address they had to go to. The ambulance would have been sparsely equipped.
The majority of local surgery visits would result in pills, ointments or a bottle of medicine. Hospital treatment, though not as sophisticated as todays NHS, was fairly straight forward, with operations, X-Rays, and other regular procedures. Although the hospital staff, many whom had worked treating horrendous injuries throughout WW2, were very experienced, and would not have found the hospital procedures much different to earlier times. Most important of all, the administration was much simpler.
Today it is vastly expensive equipment, highly trained surgeons, doctors, technicians, working with highly sophisticated machinery and tools, on very complex operations, that the surgeon of 1948 could only have dreamed about. We now have highly qualified specialists involved in everything, from mental problems, health problems, new diseases, old age care. The various departments are numerous. Many new, much updated hospitals have been opened.
Advances in all departments of medicine meant that, today we are living longer. Everything costs more, but all this progress appears to have brought with it huge administration problems, and financial worries that even the finest mathematician's would find bewildering.
In spite of all the problems, and the National Health Service has many, those that care for us continue with their wonderful work, whilst all around them is managerial disarray.
Eddie
