60 years of the NHS

This year, 2008, marks 60 years of the NHS.

That’s 60 years of high-quality healthcare that is essentially free at the point of use for everyone in the UK. It’s also 60 years of service from a dedicated and professional workforce.

At Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, we’ve created this special section on our website to help celebrate 60 years of the NHS. You can read more below or by using the links on the left.

We've also put together a four-page pull-out in our staff newspaper, 360° (PDF, 171KB, requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, free download).

About the NHS
You can read more about the NHS as an organisation, including what makes it unique among the world’s healthcare systems. Find out what working for the NHS means to our staff, and what some of our patients think about our hospitals. We also asked what London schoolchildren would do if they worked in a hospital.

The 1948 launch
We take you back to the launch of the NHS in 1948, outlining the key developments that led to its creation. You can also read the original 1948 information leaflet that was sent out by the government to help explain how the NHS would work (PDF, 578KB, requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, free download).

The past 60 years
We look back over the past 60 years, exploring recent milestones in the NHS and our five hospitals with our 1948 to 2008 timeline. Find out how healthcare has changed over the years, and how the health of the class of 1948 has fared. You can also read some of the personal stories of our staff and take a look at our 1950s and 1970s photo archive.

The future of the NHS
Finally, we look ahead to the next 60 years. What is the future of the NHS? What further changes and reforms might we expect to see in our lifetimes? And what do London schoolchildren think the hospitals of the future should be like?

We’re proud of the NHS, and hope you are too. Thanks for celebrating its 60th anniversary with us.