Yesterday marked the 72nd birthday of the National Health Service (NHS).

The NHS is the health service that everybody in the UK can use when they become poorly or injured, to help them to get better. It is 'free at the point of use', which means people can be treated for free when they are poorly. Before the NHS, people would usually have to pay to get help if they got ill.

The NHS includes doctors, nurses, surgeons, ambulance drivers, opticians, paramedics, midwives (who help to deliver babies), psychologists and all sorts of other people whose job it is to help keep people stay healthy and to look after those who are poorly or injured.

 

Find out about the special events which took place across the country at the weekend to honour the NHS:

Happy birthday, NHS!

Our lovely quiet room at school, Bevan, was named after the founder of the NHS, to show our gratitude to him. To find out more about Aneurin Bevan, the Health secretary responsible for launching the NHS in 1948, click here:

Find out about the history of the NHS