<h2 class="wp-block-heading eplus-wrapper">What's happening? </h2>

"It will keep very many people alive who might otherwise be dead." These are the words of Aneurin Bevan. He was in charge of health in Britain from 1945 to 1951. He had a plan to create a health service for all people living in Britain - whether or not they could afford to pay for care.

Today, that health service is more than 75 years old.

But some people are worried about the future of the National Health Service (NHS). It faces lots of challenges - challenges that did not exist in 1948.

At first, the NHS cost £30m each year to run. Now it costs £190bn. Even with so much money spent on it, it is not running smoothly. More than seven million people are waiting for care. And NHS staff have gone on strikeWhen people refuse to work until their demands for changes have been met. over low pay.

<h2 class="wp-block-heading eplus-wrapper">Find out more </h2>

The NHS was put under a lot of pressure during the Covid-19 pandemic. And critics say that not enough money is put into the NHS by Britain's leaders Over the past 30 years the number of hospital beds has more than halved.

Some think that the NHS cannot survive like this for another 25 years. They say that more and more of it will soon be run by companies, not by the British governmentThe group of people who govern - or lead - the country..

Others say that the NHS is so popular, Britons will not stand for this. They will vote in leaders who will put more money into the system.

Yes! Of course it will. Few Britons today can remember a time without the NHS. It is very popular - Britons will do what they can to save it.

No! The NHS has huge problems. It has more people to treat than ever before and staff are struggling. And these problems do not have any easy answers.

Strike - When people refuse to work until their demands for changes have been met.

Government - The group of people who govern - or lead - the country.