See also: NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, National Health Service (England), and Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland - This article deals only with the current and historical matters which are common to all of the public health systems in Great Britain or the United Kingdom

The National Health Service is the name commonly used to refer to the four publicly-funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom collectively or individually, although in general it is currently only the health service in England that is properly called the National Health Service without further qualification. Three services (for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) were established by separate pieces of legislation and began operating on 5 July 1948; prior to that date more limited public health services were operated by local authorities and other bodies. Responsibility for public health services in Wales passed to the Secretary of State for Wales in 1969.^[1]. The small proportion of health matters which are not otherwise devolved are generally dealt with by the Department of Health (United Kingdom) or on its behalf by a division of the English NHS.

Forming the basis of healthcare in the United Kingdom, each system—National Health Service, NHS Scotland, NHS Wales and the Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland—operates independently, and is politically accountable to the relevant devolved government of Scotland (Scottish Government), Wales (Welsh Assembly Government) and Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland Executive), and to the UK government for England.

There is no initial discrimination when a patient resident in one country of the United Kingdom requires treatment in another, but repatriation of an in-patient might be made after initial treatment and stabilisation leaves a need for continuing hospital care. Occasionally a patient requiring specialised emergency care (publicised cases commonly involve childbirth complications) might be transferred away from their own national area. The consequent financial matters and paperwork of such inter-working are dealt with between the organisations involved and there is generally no personal involvement by the patient comparable to that which might occur when, for example, a resident of one European Union member country receives treatment in another.

See also

• History of the National Health Service

References

External Links

• 'BIRTH OF THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE | How the state of the nation's health became a political ideal', a BBC Archive collection of programmes and documents.
• Celebrating 60 years of the NHS in Scotland (useful insight into the distinct development of public healthcare in Scotland)
• NHS Choices The NHS website