Opinion piece reflects on the humanist origins and values of the NHS. Published Newham Recorder, Barking and Dagenham Post, Romford Recorder and Docklands and East London Advertiser on various dates Jan 2023.
Former Tory chancellor Nigel Lawson famously said “the National Health Service is the
closest thing the English have to a religion.” Ironically, three key architects of this treasured
institution were in fact humanists. Their values and vision are still compelling. Anything
undermining the ethos at the heart of the NHS should be resisted, not as an article of faith
but for reasons of fairness and decency.
The foundations for the modern welfare state were recommended in the Beveridge Report
(1942), covering housing, employment and education, as well as health. Author William
Beveridge grew up in a humanist household.
He and post World War II PM Attlee, also non-religious, were influenced by witnessing
deprivation in London’s East End. Both men spent time at Toynbee Hall in Spitalfields, a
secular institution dedicated to tackling the causes and impact of poverty.
Aneurin Bevan, appointed Minister of Health by Atlee, oversaw the foundation of the NHS
in 1948. He said ‘No society can legitimately call itself civilised if a sick person is denied
medical aid because of lack of means.’ As true now as it was then. In her eulogy Bevan’s
widow, Jenny Lee MP, described him as ‘a great humanist whose religion lay in loving his
fellow men and trying to serve them.’
Humanist values are at the heart of the NHS vision: people of different beliefs cooperating
for the common good ; harnessing scientific advance for social progress; treating every
person with dignity, compassion and respect. It has transformed the lives of countless
people, including dramatic reductions in infant mortality and rises in life expectancy. The
Covid vaccination programme, much vaunted by this Government, is but a recent example
of the effectiveness of the NHS in providing free comprehensive care when given the
resources. An early success was eradicating the scourge of polio through universal
vaccination in the 1950’s.
The NHS was born in the aftermath of a devastating war. Housing stock had been
decimated, food and clothing were still rationed. Is our economy now so stretched that a fit
for purpose ambulance and A&E service, same day GP appointments, decent dental care
and short waiting lists are no longer affordable? There are choices now, just as then, about
where our collective national wealth should be invested, and which values to prioritise.
Paul Kaufman
Chair East London Humanists
