A cartoon explaining to the people of Britain how the National Health Service would work has reemerged after nearly 70 years.
The video was aimed at convincing the country that everyone pitching in was the way forward and likened it to running water in the three-minute message.
Footage shows main character Charley, who was created in 1946 to feature in government campaigns, riding his bike down a hill as the narrator explains how the newly created NHS will operate.
Footage shows main character Charley, who was created in 1946 to feature in government campaigns, riding his bike down a hill as the narrator explains how the newly created NHS will operate
This is followed by the narrator showing Charley how the new health service will improve things such as maternity care and general health
It gives him a practical example where he is taken care of from start to finish after contracting an illness, without any cost to him or his family
Pictured is Charley getting a blood transfusion in the promotion video for the National Health Service
This is followed by the narrator showing Charley how the new health service will improve things such as maternity care and general health, before giving him a practical example where he is taken care of from start to finish after contracting an illness, without any cost to him or his family.
The NHS was founded in 1948 by Prime Minister Clement Attlee’s Labour government as part of a huge overhaul of public services in the UK.
It was formed out of a long-held belief in Britain that healthcare should be free at the point of delivery regardless of wealth or status, with the atrocities suffered in the Second World War only highlighting the need for it.
The idea was that a national health service which was available to all would be funded through a combination of taxation and national insurance contributions, with newly appointed health minister Aneurin Bevan spearheading the campaign.
The government encountered some opposition in its efforts to establish the NHS, notably from certain medical professionals.
However, there was cross-party support for the idea, with the Conservative party also seeing the need for an NHS.
The NHS was founded in 1948 by Prime Minister Clement Attlee’s Labour government as part of a huge overhaul of public services in the UK
It was formed out of a long-held belief in Britain that healthcare should be free at the point of delivery regardless of wealth or status. Pictured is Charley explaining the NHS to his wife
Speaking following its creation, Bevan said: ‘There is nothing that destroys the family budget of the professional worker more than heavy hospital bills and doctors’ bills.’
‘The eyes of the world are turning to Great Britain. We now have the moral leadership of the world.’
The first ever NHS patient, on July 5 1948, was 13-year-old Sylvia Diggory, who Bevan visited in her bed in hospital. Speaking after the meeting, she was quoted as saying: ‘Mr Bevan asked me if I understood the significance of the occasion and told me that it was a milestone in history – the most civilised step any country had ever taken.’
Since its inception certain parts of the NHS have changed, such as the exclusion of dentistry from the service as well as payment for prescriptions and eye glasses.
The idea was that a national health service which was available to all would be funded through a combination of taxation and national insurance contributions, with newly appointed health minister Aneurin Bevan spearheading the campaign
Speaking following its creation, Bevan said: ‘There is nothing that destroys the family budget of the professional worker more than heavy hospital bills and doctors’ bills’