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The NHS under pressure

Patients are nursed on a ward in the new Guy's Hospital building in London in 1961.

Patients are nursed on a ward in the new Guy's Hospital building in London in 1961.
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Architects of the National Health Service (NHS) underestimated the immediate public demand and the consequent costs. By the end of 1948, costs were more than double the predicted costs of £176 million, reaching around £400 million.

Related documents

Surge in demand for the NHS

Cabinet Memorandum. The National Health Service. Memorandum by the Minister of Health. 13 December 1948 (PDF, 0.795MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. The National Health Service. Memorandum by the Minister of Health. 6 May 1949 (PDF, 1.003MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. The National Health Service. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Scotland. 10 May 1949 (PDF, 0.463MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Stabilisation of Salaries and Wages in the National Health Service. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Minister of Health. 1 November 1949 (PDF, 0.882MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. National Health Service. 23 May 1949 (PDF, 1.375MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. National Health Service: Charge for Prescriptions. Memorandum by the Minister of Health. 26 January 1950 (PDF, 0.508MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. National Health Service (England and Wales): Control of Expenditure. Memorandum by the Minister of Health. 10 March 1950 (PDF, 2.544MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 3. National Health Service. 13 March 1950 (PDF, 1.338MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. National Health Service (England and Wales). Memorandum by the Minister of Health. 30 March 1950 (PDF, 0.507MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Committee on the National Health Service. Note by the Prime Minister. 21 April 1950 (PDF, 0.149MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Social Services Expenditure. 22 March 1951 (PDF, 2.759MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 3. Social Services Expenditure. 9 April 1951 (PDF, 1.151MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Social Services Expenditure. 9 April 1951 (PDF, 1.108MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. National Health Service Bill. Memorandum by the Minister of Health and the Secretary of State for Scotland. 25 April 1951 (PDF, 0.466MB)

NHS under the Conservatives

Cabinet Conclusion 3. The Economic Situation. 20 December 1951 (PDF, 1.432MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 2. The Economic Situation. 22 January 1952 (PDF, 1.644MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 2. National Health Service Bill. 20 March 1952 (PDF, 1.267MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. National Health Service: Danckwerts Award. Memorandum by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 11 June 1952 (PDF, 0.608 MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 7. National Health Service. 3 February 1953 (PDF, 1.498 MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Proposed enquiry into the cost of the National Health Service. Memorandum by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 28 January 1953 (PDF, 0.486MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Report of the Committee on Civil Expenditure. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations. 15 July 1954 (PDF, 1.365MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Government Expenditure: Economies. Memorandum by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 16 October 1956 (PDF, 0.621MB)

NHS by Contribution

Cabinet Conclusion 4. Government Expenditure. 15 February 1957 (PDF, 1.531MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Social Services: Possible Economies. Memorandum by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 30 January 1957 (PDF, 1.030MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. National Health Service. Memorandum by the Minister of Health. 30 January 1957 (PDF, 0.736MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. National Health Service. Memorandum by the Minister of Pensions and National Service. 14 February 1957 (PDF, 0.927MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 4. National Health Service. 21 December 1960 (PDF, 2.295 MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Cost of the Health Service. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for the Home Department. 19 December 1960 (PDF, 0.441MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 4. Government Expenditure. 4 February 1958 (PDF, 1.496MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. National Health Service. Memorandum by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 3 February 1958 (PDF, 0.911MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. National Health Service Contribution. Memorandum by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 21 October 1960 (PDF, 0.494MB)

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Further reading

Webster, C., The National Health Service: A Political History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998)

Content

The NHS under pressure
Financial crisis
Conservative rule

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