National Health Service
The National Health Service (NHS) is the [[Publicly funded medicine| publicly-funded healthcare system]] of the United Kingdom. It was created on 5 July 1948 by Clement Attlee's Labour government, under health and housing minister Nye Bevan.The NHS was, and largely remains, a system of medicine, intended to be "free at the point of delivery" and paid for by taxes. Private medical care remained, and remains, available in the UK.
The NHS continues to provide medical care in the UK. The long-term future of the NHS is a major issue in British politics.
Contrary to popular misconception, the founding principles of the NHS called for its funding out of general taxation not through national insurance.