Universal health care--60 years of the British National Health Service 1948-2008.

The British National Health Service (NHS) is now 60 years old, affording an opportunity to examine its performance as a government-funded health plan covering all citizens. It opened in 1948 and by 1949 patients' demands on services far exceededestimates. Since then spendinghas increased yearly. There have been manyrecurringproblems particularly limitation of services due to underfunding and long waiting lists for treatments reaching a high of 1,263,000 patients awaiting hospital admission in 1998. In an attempt to solve its problems the NHS has been reorganized frequently. Major redesigns have occurredwith each newgovernment, accompaniedby increased costs andagrowingbureaucracy.Administrative and clerical staff grew from 29,021 in 1951 to 280,692 (+867%) in 2005. Significant problems continue. The NHS is an example of what can go wrong with a wholly government funded universal health care plan that is free at the point of delivery.