I found out something amazing. Did you know that it is the 70th birthday of the NHS today?! I know – they really kept that one quiet.
I kid, of course. It’s not a massive surprise that there has been such a fuss made of the celebrations. The NHS holds a place in the national psyche – I can’t recall too many Olympic opening ceremonies paying tribute to a public service like the London one did.
We’ve not been immune to that over at Pulse Towers. Indeed, our cover feature for the July issue is based on NHS 70 – though we fear we may be party poopers. We have analysed the funding settlements and come to the conclusion that GPs might not get the settlement they really need from Theresa May’s promise of £20bn more a year for the NHS.
But it has also given us a chance to look at general practice over the past 70 years, at the characters that have helped improve the profession – and those that GPs haven’t always seen eye-to-eye with.
We have looked back at a GP’s typical week in 1948 – which is a real eye-opener – and have an interview with three generations of GPs.
It has also given our columnists the chance to reflect on general practice. Dr Shaba Nabi gives a wonderful speech – with a nod to Martin Luther King – while Dr Kailash Chand says what the NHS really needs as a birthday gift and we report on the NHS 70 march that took place over the weekend.
It is probably highly unlikely that we’ll be seeing another 70 years of the NHS. But let’s celebrate it while it is still with us.
Jaimie Kaffash is editor of Pulse. Follow him on Twitter @jkaffash or email him at editor@pulsetoday.co.uk
