Creation of a healthcare system 1918-79

Question 1

When was the Ministry of Health introduced and what did it do?

Answer 1

•1919
• responsible for the administration of Poor Law, local authority health (midwifery, public service provision)

Question 2

What was the Ministry of Health meant to do?

Answer 2

• was recommended by the Dawson report to be a network of teaching hospitals, primary and secondary health care
• however lacked political will and funding

Question 3

When was the Local Government Act introduced and what was it meant to do?

Answer 3

• 1929
• gave PACs the incentive to turn Poor Law infirmaries to proper public hospitals

Question 4

How was the 1929 Local Government Act ineffective?

Answer 4

• by 1939 half of public hospitals were poor law infirmaries (attached to workhouses to provide relief to older people)
• Poor Law unions covered some of the medical cost, but not all of it

Question 5

How was the 1929 Local Government Act effective?

Answer 5

•Poor Law hospitals in bigger towns were integrated with other health services
•led to the development of rehabilitation services and geriatric medicine for the elderly, reducing the number of bed blockers

Question 6

How many voluntary hospitals existed before the NHS and why was this not effective

Answer 6

•1100
• understaffed and often went bankrupt

Question 7

When was the National Blood Transfusion Service introduced?

Answer 7

1946

Question 8

When was the Emergency Medical Service introduced?

Answer 8

1939

Question 9

How many civilians were killed by German bombs during WW2?

Answer 9

60,0000

Question 10

How many soldiers were killed and wounded in WW2?

Answer 10

•287,859 (290,000) killed
• 274,148 (275,000) wounded

Question 11

How many copies of the Beveridge report were sold?

Answer 11

• 635,000 copies sold

Question 12

What were the developments in antibiotics between 1948 and 1968

Answer 12

• 1948 - 1 antibiotic available
• 1968 - 33 antibiotics available

Question 13

What was the development of TB cases between 1948 and 1958?

Answer 13

number of deaths per year fell from 25000 to 5000 due to new antibiotic drugs from the USA

Question 14

When was dipheria eradicated alive?

Answer 14

• 1967
• mass immunisation programmes conducted by the NHS

Question 15

When did the first successful heart transplant take place?

Answer 15

1979

Question 16

When was the pill introduced and how many people were using it in 1969?

Answer 16

• 1961
• 1 million people using it by 1969

Question 17

When did the first hip replacement take place?

Answer 17

1962

Question 18

How did life expectancy increase between 1950 and 1979

Answer 18

men - 66 to 70
women - 71 to 75

Question 19

How much of GNP did the NHS take up between 1950 and 1970

Answer 19

• 4.1% in 1959
• 4.8% in 1970

Question 20

When did the first kidney transplant take place and how much of the NHS budget did it take up by the 1990s?

Answer 20

• 1960
• 3% of the budget

Question 21

What did improved midwives lead to?

Answer 21

maternal deaths in childhood 1/100 to 0.18/1000

Question 22

In 1970, how many people suffered from arthritis?

Answer 22

• 200,000 men
• 700,000 women

Question 23

How did Bevan convince doctors to join the NHS?

Answer 23

• Feb 1948 - 90% of the British Medical Association said no to NHS
• July 1948 - 90% said yes
• because Bevan ‘stuffed their mouths with gold’

Question 24

How was Bevan significant in convincing the government/ public to support his NHS reforms?

Answer 24

• persuaded Attlee to come down on his side in Cabinet
• shaped public support
• got the majority of Conservative supporters favouring his scheme in a 1948 poll

Question 25

How was Christopher Addison significant in the establishment of the NHS?

Answer 25

Backed Bevan’s proposals. Significant as:
• had close relations with Attlee
• respected in cabinet (Head of House of Lords, appointed by Attlee)
• respected on medical grounds as a physician

Question 26

When was the White Paper ‘A National Health Service’ implemented and why was this significant?

Answer 26

•1944
• demonstrated both coalition support and a public desire for a comprehensive scheme
• demonstrated that some form of NHS would definitely be established

Question 27

Why was the wartime Conservative Minister of Health Henry Willink?

Answer 27

• laid the groundwork for some necessary compromises Bevan later built on, e.g allowing GPs to continue as independent contractors
• demonstrated that some form of NHS would be implemented