NHS at 60

Happy Birthday to the NHS: 60 years old on July 5th.

The NHS is a remarkable achievement. The standard of care and treatment that we receive from the service is very high.

As Liberal Democrats we are proud of the role of the Liberal party in setting up the Health Service. The Beveridge Report of 1942 identified the five giants of "illness, ignorance, disease, squalor, and want" to be fought, and served as the basis for the Health Service and reforms of the post-war era. William Beveridge, who led the report, went on to lead the Liberals in the House of Lords. He died in 1963.

Hardly a year goes by without the NHS being described as in crisis. In 1968 the Telegraph said that the system was unsustainable, but it has survived the last 40 years.

Credit where it is due: Labour have reduced waiting lists and tackled the worst aspects of Tory under funding. However the Labour government now appear driven to embrace the private sector for its own sake, rather than because it may lead to better services. They have also attempted to micromanage all details of Health provision from Westminster.

We should remain proud of the NHS and fight to keep the main ideal alive: that provision of health care should not be on the basis of ability to pay.

The LibDem commitment to the NHS includes finding ways to fund personal care for the elderly and addressing real problems such as delays in undergoing diagnostic tests.

You can read a fuller statement of our policy in our online policy documents, as well as details of our national party health campaigns.