News
HRH attends a service celebrating 60 years of the NHS at Westminster Abbey
2nd July 2008
The Prince of Wales today joined hundreds of former and serving staff at a service of celebration to mark 60 years of the National Health Service (NHS) at Westminster Abbey.
In a speech to the congregation Prime Minister Gordon Brown today paid tribute to the NHS, describing the institution as the "noblest manifestation of the character of our country".
He said: "First conceived in 1948 in a bold and daring leap of faith, the National Health Service has cared for tens of millions of people and literally saved hundreds of thousands of lives.
"And we give thanks today because it has freed all of us from the fear of the cost of care when we fall ill.
"Loved and cherished like no other public service, it has established itself as an enduring and practical expression of the shared values that unite our whole country."
Free healthcare for all became a reality when Clement Attlee's Labour government introduced the NHS amidst the gloom of post-war austerity.
The architect of the groundbreaking initiative was the then Health Secretary, Aneurin Bevan, who on 5th July, 1948, opened Park Hospital in Manchester, formally launching the NHS.
For the first time, hospitals, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, opticians and dentists were brought together under one umbrella organisation to provide services.