Student nurses at an anatomy class on the roof of St James' Hospital, Balham, London, in 1958

Student nurses at an anatomy class on the roof of St James' Hospital, Balham, London, in 1958

Happy 70th birthday to the National Health Service! It was on 5 July 1948 – spearheaded by the then Minister of Health, Aneurin Bevan – when the NHS was created out of the ideal that good healthcare should be available to all, regardless of wealth – a principle that remains at its core. Since then, the NHS has transformed the health and well-being of the nation, and today we celebrate the milestone, as well as thanking the millions of staff and volunteers who have served the much-loved institution over the last seven decades.