Public or private health care?

1920s case study

London hospitals in the 1920s were run by private trusts or individuals, not by the state as most are today. After the demands created by World War I many hospitals were in danger of closing down. Hospitals charged people for medical care because they did not receive enough money from donations. Patients were charged according to means, so that people who had less money paid less for treatment.

In 1922 the Hospitals of London Combined Appeal was launched. This aimed to raise £250,000 to enable the hospitals to receive a further £250,000 from the government. Almost all of London's hospitals joined in (120 of 127) and by the mid-1920s hospital financial problems had eased.

2003 case study

The voluntary system would continue until the creation of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1948. The creation of the NHS still allowed private health care and today one in five non-emergency operations are carried out in private hospitals. There are about 230 private hospitals in Britain providing over 120,000 procedures for the NHS every year. Many people choose to take out medical insurance to cover the cost of private treatment, or pay the fees directly, believing that this will provide a quicker or better service.