NHS 60 Today! Reform or Die?

The NHS celebrates its 60th birthday today. The government has been marking the landmark event through a string of initiatives aimed at bringing the ageing and bureaucratic institution into the 21st century. Following New Labour's victory the cry went out for more spending on the NHS in real-terms. i.e. above the rate of inflation as the NHS had been under funded for the duration of the preceding Conservative government. Labour more than fulfilled this pledge by delivering a whopping £300 billion (est.) of extra real terms spending, as an example of the magnitude of the increase, £300 billion is more than the amount the government has earned from North Sea Oil and Gas since 1997 and has resulted in the NHS expansion from approx 4.8% of the UK's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 8% of GDP, and is destined to continue to grow... [read full story]