Private Healthcare Insurance Means No Waiting

In 1944 the government published a white paper called A National Health Service which announced three general aims.

These were:

1. To provide universal access to healthcare
2. To ensure that the healthcare provided was as comprehensive as possible
3. To provide these healthcare services for free (with certain exceptions)

The National Health Service Act of 1946 placed municipal and voluntary hospitals under state control. On the day this Act came into effect, July 5, 1948, the Minister for Health, Aneurin Bevan, officially created the NHS at Park Hospital (now Trafford General) in Trafford, Manchester. That day the NHS treated its first patient – 13-year-old Sylvia Beckingham became the first person in the UK to benefit from the principle of universal healthcare.

While the National Health Service has provided such an important service with its provision of healthcare and has vastly improved the quality of life for people across the UK, it does have its problems. With staffing levels, space and funding always falling short, many people have to wait months to receive free healthcare treatment when they could afford the healthcare insurance that would get them treated immediately at a private hospital.