See how the Pharmacy has helped evolve the National Health Service since 1948
On 5th July, 1948 Nye Bevan opened one of the world's first and most comprehensive health services to the British people, with the aim of providing healthcare ‘free at the point of use’. Whilst the fundamentals may not have changed much, the NHS and in particular Pharmacy has changed beyond recognition since the birth of the NHS 60 years ago.
Before the NHS, a visit to the doctors was a last resort unless you were rich. The high street chemist (now known as a pharmacist) would have been your first port of call for advice on medical complaints and medicines. In those days, pharmacists were expected to prepare a wide range of products for their customers that took up much of their time. Everything from medicines like painkillers, sedatives and cough mixtures to toiletries such as shampoo and toothpaste and even rat poison!
Today the role of the Pharmacy is continuing to evolve. With the Government’s White Paper on Healthcare, the high street pharmacy is set to provide care for those with minor ailments, potentially freeing up GPs for more serious ills. The kind of services envisaged include vaccinations, help with quitting smoking, and management of long-term conditions like asthma and diabetes. "Health MoTs" - checks for heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease for the over-40s are also a target. Many chemists are also already involved in tackling teenage pregnancy, with powers to distribute the morning-after-pill.
In conjunction with the 60th Anniversary of the NHS, The Royal Pharmaceutical Society reflects on the changing role of the chemist to pharmacist and the change of pharmacies across Britain over the last sixty years. Click here to see just how the medical world has evolved since 1948 and see what the future may hold…