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Labour Reforms - The Welfare State 1945-1951Reforms to address disease

After World War Two the Labour Government introduced reforms to establish the Welfare State. These tackled ‘Five Giants’ described in the Beveridge Report.

Part of HistoryThe making of modern Britain (1880-1951)

Reforms to address disease

National Health Service Act 1948

The successes of this were:

  • the National Health Service (NHS) was established in 1948 - it provided free access to doctors, dentists, opticians and hospitals
  • doctors, dentists and opticians were inundated with patients queuing up for treatment that they had previously been unable to afford

The limitations of this were:

  • prescriptions rose from 7 million per month before the NHS to 13.5 million per month in September 1948
  • by 1950 the NHS was costing ÂŁ358 million per year
  • the Government had to backtrack on its principle of a free service, by introducing charges for spectacles and dental treatment
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