Happy 75th birthday NHS! As we celebrate this momentous anniversary, look back at what this beloved British institution has done for you with this interactive tool.
The National Health Service, which was founded in 1948, was the first universal health system to be available to all and free at the point of delivery.
The NHS has touched all of our lives in some way or another whether it's broken bones or prescriptions.
According to Statista, the UK spent over £216.8 billion on health in 2021/22, but what portion of that was for you?
Since day one, the NHS has never stood still. It has continually innovated and adapted to meet the changing needs of our patients – and continues to do so.
— Amanda Pritchard (@AmandaPritchard) July 5, 2023
To everyone who's made such a difference to many millions of lives over the last 75 years — thank you. pic.twitter.com/ir4nHFc6Hn
Insurance company GoCompare has an interactive tool which can help you assess how much you have cost the NHS.
The ‘Bill of Health’ tool lets you enter your medical conditions, appointments, prescriptions and more to try and ascertain just how much your approximate bill is to date.
Calculate how much you've cost the NHS
The tool asks you how many GP appointments you have attended as well as how many prescriptions, missed appointments and more.
You will also be asked about various health conditions such as diabetes, whether or not you have given birth to children and if you have broken any bones.
When you’ve entered all your details, the tool will provide you with an estimated bill for the NHS.
It then asks you to enter to salary and it will work out exactly what your yearly contribution to NHS services is.
The website does disclaim that these bills are an estimation: “All costs listed in this interactive are approximate and should not be relied upon as definitive.
“Average costs have been sourced from a variety of publications which can be found here.
"NHS tax contributions displayed are approximate calculations, and only standard rate has been used to provide general estimates.”
NHS under 'intense pressure' as we mark 75th anniversary
National health service providers have said that the service is under “intense pressure” which cannot be solely blamed on the coronavirus pandemic.
Chief executive of the organisation which represents NHS trusts, Sir Julian Hartley, spoke to Sky News: “It’s under intense pressure, that’s absolutely clear.
“I’ve worked in the NHS 30 years and I think this is perhaps the most pressurised I’ve seen it in terms of all of the challenges, in terms of recovering from Covid… urgent and emergency care demand is hugely significant, and then, of course, all the background issues around ageing population and so on.
“But it is important to remember that it wasn’t just the pandemic – from 2010 to 2019 the NHS spent 18% less than 14 other European countries, so in terms of investment in the NHS, and indeed social care. Those are critical issues to resolve.”
He added: “The overall size of the waiting list is still a major issue.
“We have got a long-term workforce plan now which will see an increase in staffing, but there is a challenge right here, right now in terms of industrial action, in terms of the pressures on the NHS, so I think that patients can see some progress, but there are many challenges ahead to resolve.”
Sir Julian continued: “I would say the pressures are enormous. There are things that the NHS is doing in terms of more elective surgical hubs, building new facilities to get more patients through, working differently using things like virtual wards to have more patients treated outside hospital to free up capacity in hospital…
“But all of that is against the backdrop of enormous pressures of industrial action, of the biggest financial squeeze the NHS has seen for some time.”
