Origin of NHS
To some extent the Second World War changed peoples attitudes. The need to treat large numbers of civilian casualties from bombing raids gave people access to health care they had never experienced before. The state had also controlled almost every aspect of people's lives during the conflict, so the idea of government looking after citizens' health did not seem strange. Government ministers noticed that as a result of rationing, the health of the poor had actually improved.
Post-war consensus
In the years immediately after the Second World War there was a period in British politics now known as the 'post-war consensus'. Historians use this term because for the most part, the major political parties agreed on the country's main priorities and generally co-operated in trying to achieve them.
The Beveridge report
The Beveridge Report of 1943 set out plans for the future of post-war Britain. It identified the main issues facing British society, including disease, and laid the foundations of what would become known as the Welfare State. When Labour came to power in 1945, an extensive programme of welfare measures followed - including a National Health Service (NHS). The Minister of Health, Aneurin Bevan, was given the task of introducing the service.
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the publicly funded healthcare system in England, and one of the four National Health Service systems in the United Kingdom. It is the second largest single-payer healthcare system in the world after the Brazilian Sistema Único de Saúde.