National Health Service Act 1946
Act of Parliament | |
National Health Service Act 1977 | |
---|---|
Status: Repealed | |
Text of statute as originally enacted |
The National Health Service Act 1946 (
The whole Act was replaced by the National Health Service Act 1977,[1] which itself is now superseded by the National Health Service Act 2006 and the Health and Social Care Act 2012.
Provisions
According to s 1(1),
It shall be the duty of the Minister of Health ... to promote the establishment ... of a comprehensive health service designed to secure improvement in the physical and mental health of the people of England and Wales and the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of illness and for that purpose to provide or secure the effective provision of services ...
The Act provided for the establishment of a Central Health Services Council with 41 members to advise the minister: the presidents of royal colleges, councillors, and representatives of doctors, dentists, nurses midwives and pharmacists.
Hospital services were the responsibility of the minister. Existing voluntary and local authority hospitals were transferred to the NHS.
County councils and county boroughs were designated as local health authorities. They were responsible for providing ambulance services, health centres, and for care, including dental care, of expectant and nursing mothers and of children under five. They had responsibility for the supervision of midwives and the provision of health visitors and community nursing. They were also responsible for vaccination of persons against smallpox, and immunisation against diphtheria and other diseases.
Executive councils were established to supervise general medical and dental services, pharmaceutical services and supplementary ophthalmic services. Provision was made for the establishment of
Charges
Most services were to be free, but there were powers to make charges for:
- Medical appliances of a more expensive type than the prescribed type (and repairs to appliances)
- Privately paying patients
- Care of expectant and nursing mothers and of children under five
- Aftercare and domestic help
- Dental and optical appliances of a more expensive type than the prescribed type
- Replacement or repair of any dental or optical appliances if the need arose from lack of care
Mental health
The functions of the Board of Control for Lunacy and Mental Deficiency were transferred to the minister.
Further reading
See also
- National Insurance Act 1911
- History of the National Health Service
- National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1947
- National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990
- National Health Service Act 2006
- United Kingdom enterprise law
References
Full text of the Act (HTML version)[2]
- ^ National Health Service Act 1977, Schedule 16 at Legislation.gov.uk
- ^ "National Health Service Act, 1946". Socialist Health Association. Retrieved 8 March 2016.