National Health Service History

nhshistory.net

nhshistory.com

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From Cradle to Grave - the first 60 years of the NHS

The most substantial account of the first 60 years of the NHS - what has happened from 1948 onwards and why, rather than what people think will happen. A reviewer described the book as "an epic story full of drama, tragedy, intrigue and many instances of humour." My first book on the London Hospital System covers the creation of the NHS better.

The text is updated at least weekly and is used nationally and internationally as a teaching resource by degree programmes in health sciences. The web version covers the period since the start of the NHS and the hard copy published version the first 50 years. The website is archived by the UK Web Archive (by managed by the British Library/Wellcome). Now 12 years old, the book is hard to obtain, but try Amazon or Abebooks, ISBN 1 85717 148 9 or you may be able to borrow it from your library. If you want a copy of the website as a CD Rom email me - it will cost £12. The CD Rom also includes my first book on the London Hospital System, now out of print.

Devolution has created major differences between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the latter three countries are not specifically considered.

Recent additions include

Site contents

Geoffrey Rivett's earlier book

Conservative/LibDem White Paper, Equity and Excellence, liberating the NHS published
Abolition of some quangos
Chief Executive writes to the NHS on "transition"
Mckinsey report on finance published
Andrew Lansley (SOS) reviews London restructuring
Nigel Hawkes' guide to Jargon
Senior Doctors on reconfiguration
Francis report on North Staffordshire & public enquiry
Marmot review on health inequalities

the inheritance of the NHS in 1948 and the events from 1948 by decade
a summary of the past decades
a simple guide to the NHS (recently revised)and a link to BBC Archives on the NHS
a list of CMOs & Ministers pre and post 1948
Financial information,
earlier (for the UK) and later (for England) periods (& see Parliamentary briefing)

The Development of the London Hospital System 1823-1982 deals with the emergence of system among the disparate hospitals of London and the steps in the establishment of the NHS (from a London perspective)

References: From Cradle to Grave (the book and the chapters up to 1998) are referenced in the conventional way. So is The London Hospital System. Internet has altered referencing. I now often use hyperlinks. Increasingly DOI citations are used. To access such documents go to the Resolve DOI box found at www.crossref.org. or opposite at the bottom of the page.

New organisations (e.g. the Care Quality Commission) may remove all traces of its predecessors website - including references. Even the BMA and the Department of Health will remove key documents, and following the 2010 election the DH website has been archived affecting some links. With the advent of continuous publishing the key source is now the web, not paper. The BMJ is available on line back to the middle of the 19th Century on www.bmj.com/archive and www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov and The Lancet at www.sciencedirect.com, For official documents My Click use licence from OPSI is number C2008001265 Sources used include the BMJ, Health Service Journal, The Lancet, Health Affairs, the Department of Health and The Times. I acknowledge my debt to these, to those writing on health care, and to those who have spoken to me about NHS and clinical developments.

Geoffrey Rivett asserts intellectual ownership/copyright over this material. However, you are at liberty to download the text for personal use, but not for commercial reproduction in another publication or web site, or for multiple copying for academic or business purposes. You may use material from this site referencing, for example, Rivett G. C. National Health Service History www.nhshistory.net, 'accessed 8 July 2009.'

Declaration of interest: I create, design and manage this site. It receives no financial support from any quarter, and I am retired and neither in employment nor act in any consultant capacity. I welcome feedback.

DOI Resolver If you encounter a DOI string & want to access it (e.g.,doi:10.1136/bmj.c3454) you can enter it in the box below:

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History of the National Health Service

From Cradle to Grave - the first 60 years of the NHS

Recent additions include

Site contents

Geoffrey Rivett's earlier book

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