The date is the 5th July 1948, the location is the Park Hospital in Manchester.  A man named Aneurin Bevan often known as Nye Bevan launches the NHS. It’s the culmination of years of hard work, from a variety of figures, all working towards revolutionising what they believed to be an insufficient healthcare system.   Motivated to make healthcare accessible to the masses and not just exclusively to those who could afford it, the idea of a national Health service can be traced back to the early 1900’s. Socialist Beatrice Webb argued that to expect those in poverty to be entirely accountable for themselves was a narrow-minded approach from those in charge.

But it would take the cataclysmic effects of the second world war to really pave the way for a massive change to the healthcare system, and it was a momentous achievement.  The war had spurred massive innovations such as Ultrasound technology and a flood of new drugs from the pharmaceutical industry. Antibiotics and improved anaesthetics have been developed as well as medication for the treatment of schizophrenia and depression.  

However, for the first 10 years of its existence, the NHS struggled with a government inexperienced at running a healthcare system, let alone one expanding exponentially.  After the war there was a housing crisis, so homes and schools were prioritised and hospitals simply had less claim on building materials. The distribution of services was also localised to major cities or centres of population leaving rural areas with inadequate healthcare.  However, it was a glimpse into a better future.

The following years saw vaccines becoming available, treatments for certain cancers developed and a different outlook on mental health. Local practices were also established and ever since the NHS has become the stable institute that the UK is proud to have achieved and sustained in our times of need.  Never has the population been so unified in its appreciation of this establishment and never has the NHS been under so much pressure to deliver. The recent corona-virus (COVID-19) crisis has led to feats unimaginable. In just 9 days East London’s ExCel exhibition centre was converted into NHS Nightingale, a hospital providing 4000 intensive care beds over 87,328 square metres.  In total there are approximately 1.5 million people employed by the NHS across the UK, from nurses and physicians to hospital porters and maintenance staff. All right now are classed as key workers in the UK. All of whom are putting themselves on the frontline to help with the increasing numbers of people needing hospital care during these turbulent times.

Various campaigns and projects have been initiated over the past few weeks aimed at supporting and honoring our key workers, particularly those in the health and care sectors.  The most memorable being rainbows appearing in the windows of households up and down the country, all designed by individuals and families to help ease the anguish some may suffer whilst finding themselves in isolation.  Others included the UK’s #lightitblue campaign that was adopted globally and saw major landmarks lit up in a vibrant electric blue in honour of our essential workers.  

With a dramatic drop in public transport, our key workers have found it increasingly difficult to travel and have become more and more reliant on ABC Taxis. We are doing everything we can to help support our NHS heroes, and have also received many customer enquiries wanting to help. Our ‘gofundme’ initiative was set up to facilitate public donations that go toward providing our NHS heroes with a free journey.   The page has already raised over £2,500 from just over 70 donors which have subsequently provided over 250 lifts for NHS staff traveling to and from work in Norwich. Our thanks and gratitude goes to every individual who has made a donation so far and if you wish to support your local NHS workers during the pandemic, please visit our gofundme page and make your own donation however much or little, it all helps. Thank you from all of us here at ABC Taxis Norwich for your ongoing support and incredible generosity! 

Please refer to the government guidelines if you are unsure about what to do during the Covid-19 crisis; 

Clarification of the symptoms and further information from the NHS related to Covid-19 can be found on the NHS Advice for everyone page.

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