Exploring ۷۰ Years of the British National Health Service through Anniversary Documents

The British National Health Service (NHS) celebrates its ۷۰th birthday on July ۵, ۲۰۱۸. This article examines this anniversary through the lens of previous anniversaries. It examines seven documents close to each anniversary over a period of some ۶۰ years, drawing on interpretive content analysis, based on the narrative dimensions of context (structure and finance); success or achievements; problems; and solutions or recommendations. It finds that the anniversary documents tend to show change rather than consistency. For example, the Guillebaud Report tended to dismiss the problem of ageing populations, for it to reappear in ۱۹۷۹ and ۱۹۸۹, to fade in ۲۰۰۹, and reappear once more in ۲۰۱۷. Despite being downplayed or ignored in some years, the problems identified by most of the documents such as demography and technology are unlikely to disappear. Some solutions such as market-based reform have flowed and ebbed over the years, and the ‘solution’ of structural reorganisation in one year has become the ‘problem’ in a future year. While predicting the future is always hazardous, it can be said with some confidence that future anniversaries are likely to see discussion of similar themes.

Keywords:

National Health Service , UK , ۷۰th Anniversary , Documents , Content Analysis