The NHS was born out of a long-held ideal that good healthcare should be available to all, regardless of wealth. At its launch by the then minister of health, Aneurin Bevan, on July 5 1948, it had at its heart three core principles:
These three principles have guided the development of the NHS over more than half a century and remain. However, in July 2000, a full-scale modernisation programme was launched and new principles added. These require that:
The NHS will provide a comprehensive range of services
The NHS will provide access to a comprehensive range of services throughout primary and community healthcare, intermediate care and hospital-based care. The NHS will also provide information services and support to individuals in relation to health promotion, disease prevention, self-care, rehabilitation and after-care.
The NHS will shape its services around the needs and preferences of individual patients, their families and their carers
The NHS must be responsive to the needs of different groups and individuals within society. The NHS will treat patients as individuals, with respect for their dignity.
The NHS will respond to the different needs of different populations
Health services will continue to be funded nationally and be available to all citizens of the UK.
The NHS will work continuously to improve the quality of services and to minimise errors
Healthcare organisations and professions will establish ways to identify procedures that should be modified or abandoned and new practices that will lead to improved patient care. All those providing care will work to make it ever safer and support a culture where we can learn from and effectively reduce mistakes.
The NHS will support and value its staff
The NHS will continue to support, recognise, reward and invest in individuals and organisations, providing opportunities for individual staff to progress in their careers and encouraging education, training and personal development.
Public funds for healthcare will be devoted solely to NHS patients
The NHS is funded out of public expenditure, primarily by taxation. This is a fair and efficient means of raising funds for healthcare services.
The NHS will work with others to ensure a seamless service for patients
The health and social care system must be shaped around the needs of patients. The NHS will develop partnerships and co-operation at all levels of care:
- between patients, their carers, families and NHS staff,
- between the health and social care sectors,
- between different government departments, and
- between the public sector, voluntary organisations and private providers in the provision of NHS services.
The NHS will help to keep people healthy and work to reduce health inequalities
The NHS will focus efforts on preventing, as well as treating, ill health. Recognising that good health also depends upon social, environmental and economic factors such as deprivation, housing, education and nutrition, the NHS will work with other public services to intervene not just after but before ill-health occurs.
The NHS will respect the confidentiality of individual patients and provide open access to information about services, treatment and performance
Patient confidentiality will be respected throughout the process of care. The NHS will be open with information about health and healthcare services. It will continue to use information to improve the quality of services for all and to generate new knowledge about future medical benefits. Developments in science, such as the new genetics, offer important possibilities for disease prevention and treatment in the future. As a national service, the NHS is well-placed to take advantage of the opportunities offered by scientific developments and will ensure that new technologies are harnessed and developed in the interests of society as a whole and available to all on the basis of need.
