( abbr the NHS )
the British public service providing medical care that is paid for mainly by the government. British people have strong feelings about its importance, and it is always one of the top political issues in Britain. The National Health Service was introduced in 1946 by the Labour government as part of the welfare state system recommended in the Beveridge Report , and it came into operation in 1948. At first it provided free medical, dental and hospital services for everyone, but in the 1960s charges for medicines and dental services were introduced. Since then the cost of the NHS has continued to rise and governments have been forced to find new ways of paying for it. The Conservative government under Margaret Thatcher was accused of trying to privatize (= sell to private owners) the NHS after introducing hospital trusts and ‘fundholding’ (= a system allowing doctors to control how they spend their funds), and encouraging the growth of private medical services and private medical insurance. There are now fewer NHS dentists, but doctors and hospitals are still free of charge. See also private patient .