Anniversary of the NHS - secondary

When it was founded in 1948, the NHS was the first universal health system to be available to all, free at the point of delivery. Since then, the NHS has delivered Britain’s first heart transplant in 1958, Europe’s first liver transplant in 1968, the world’s first CT scan on a patient in 1971, and the world’s first test-tube baby born in 1978.

In 1999 the meningitis C vaccine was offered nationally in a world first, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, having a single national health service enabled the UK to carry out research at an unprecedented scale and find the world’s first effective treatment, dexamethasone, and the first accredited COVID-19 vaccine.

The resources in this collection, aimed at secondary-aged pupils, explore various aspects of healthcare and health awareness. Pupils will learn about common diseases, their treatment and the importance of lifestyle in determining good health as well as exploring biomedical research and clinical trials and debating social and ethical issues in relation to what treatments should, and shouldn't, be available on the NHS. The resources also include videos and other materials suitable for exploring the wide range of careers within the NHS and healthcare.