Holbeach Hospital: A personal journey into the birth of the NHS

We remember and celebrate the foundation of the National Health Service by the Labour Government on 5 July 1948.

This period of remembering and celebration reminds me of the small part that both my father and mother played in the establishment of a cottage hospital within the NHS in 1948. I was born in this hospital, just three years after the NHS was established. Although workhouses were intended for local people who were poverty stricken and had no other means of support, casual wards were for those with no fixed abode; they were often called vagrants seeking temporary public relief and stayed in casual wards for brief periods before moving on, and potentially seeking employment; this was the initial purpose of what later came to be known as Holbeach Hospital.

In addition, my parents were responsible for the running of the local children’s home that was situated in another part of town. It is to the credit of the community that this valuable resource was recognised and supported in a way that continues to be of benefit to the local community. I am sure that my parents would have been pleased that the hospital continues to be used to support the community in this way.

Where the UK does well is in providing the widest range of cover for all its people at the lowest cost; in other words, the NHS is largely funded by the goodwill of its staff.

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