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75 years of the NHS - Nursing then and now

Nicola Ring 5 May 2023

This blog reflects on the content of an issue of the Nursing Times from July 1948, days before the NHS was launched. The blog identifies some nursing issues from that year that remain current today e.g. pay, but also highlights areas of positive change within the profession i.e. it is more diverse. 

1948 saw the introduction of a National Health Service (NHS). This was a momentous event for everyone as it brought free health care to the British population. The new NHS created both opportunities and challenges for nurses.

A Nursing Times bulletin published days before the NHS started shows nursing pay was a big issue then as now. There were concerns about the low pay of senior nurses on the new NHS regional boards (£635 to £710 annually, around £16,000 to £19,000 today) and pay for part-time nurses. There was also an appeal to help fund much needed breaks for older and ailing nurses. The new NHS was short by about 30,000 nurses and there was urgent need for service re-configuration. Improved preventive healthcare, for example, meant there were too many beds for the care of those with infectious diseases. Ironic, given the lack of such beds during the recent pandemic.

Yet, there was much optimism in the bulletin about the new service. Women and children would especially benefit. Pre-NHS some men had workers health insurance, but this excluded their families. If a man’s wife or child was sick, and there was no money for doctor’s fees, they could not get treatment without charitable help.

The Nursing Times bulletin highlights opportunities for nurses in the NHS, their essential role in frontline hospital and community services as well as in NHS management. We can also see some of the positive professional changes that have taken place since 1948. The images of nurses only feature young white women. Nursing now is much more inclusive and diverse. Today’s uniforms are practical and better suited to the job. No more hats that did not stay on and needed to be starched.

Finally, if anyone knows more about Miss Yates, the Birmingham student nurse who won first prize in a British Medical Association essay competition, the RCN History of Nursing Forum at HONF@rcn.org.uk would love to hear from you.

75 years of the NHS

Nicola Ring

Nicola Ring

History of Nursing Forum Committee Member

Professor of Nursing

Nicola has worked in nursing education (adult and child fields) for 20 years. She is an experienced researcher focusing on long term physcial conditions and young people's mental health. She loves how learning from the past helps us understand nursing today. 

Page last updated - 14/10/2023