Today the NHS hits a milestone anniversary and health leaders across the country are tweeting out their birthday wishes for the organisation.
Seventy years after the universal health system was introduced, people across Britain are celebrating its progress and its very existence.
But it seems that only a few have remembered that we are also celebrating 70 years of social care today.
‘Proud to be British’
The NHS represents the idea that free healthcare is a human right and even after 70 years, its founding principles to meet the needs of everyone, to be free at the point of delivery and be based on clinical needs and not income are still its key features.
Having a universal care system means that ‘everyone matters’.
.@Jeremy_Hunt wishes the NHS a happy 70th birthday and thanks staff for being there for all of us, in good times and bad #NHS70 pic.twitter.com/RNz9ivmUpf
— DHSC Media Centre (@DHSCmedia) July 5, 2018
The NHS is one our greatest national achievements and the symbol of our willingness as a nation to respond to suffering irrespective of ability to pay. Here's my @TaviAndPort blog on my birthday wishes for its next decade. https://t.co/y6o8N5RFKp #NHS70
— Paul Jenkins (@PaulJThinks) July 5, 2018
‘Brilliance’ of staff
As NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens recognised that the success of the NHS is down to the ‘brilliance’ of its staff, healthcare leaders are expressing their gratitude for their frontline staff.
My message to #teamMKUH today @MKHospital on #NHS70 birthday pic.twitter.com/XhZyJb78YS
— Joe Harrison (@JoeHMK) July 5, 2018
#NHS70 Hearing from the leads from health and social care organisations. Suprisingly emotional. Tower Hamlets is one of the most deprived and yet some of the best outcomes because of the commitment of people here @TowerHamletsCCG @TH2GETHER @TowerHamletsNow @HWTowerhamlets pic.twitter.com/ladxixAZtc
— East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT) (@NHS_ELFT) July 5, 2018
Some are being quite creative with their wishes.
#NHS70 Birthday wishes from the recovery team at Conquest @ESHTNHS pic.twitter.com/H7NXpXrYOz
— Jon Buckley 💙 (@jon_buckley8) July 5, 2018
Don’t forget social care
Today we are also celebrating 70 years of social care, but its anniversary is going unnoticed when compared with the celebrations being hosted for the NHS.
When the 1948 National Assistance Act was set up, it did not nationalise social care services. No public institution was created, and the services were not free at the point of use, according to The King’s Fund.
Will social care stop being treated as the ‘Cinderella service’ as we move towards greater collaboration between health and social care?
As well as celebrating 70 years of the NHS, today we're celebrating 70 years of social care!
Happy Birthday to social care 🎉🎂🎈We hope everyone who works to make a difference for people using social care services can celebrate today! #SocialCare70 #NHS70
— CQCProf (@CQCProf) July 5, 2018
Tomorrow is #NHS70, so here's a big Happy Birthday to #SocialCare70 too – from the birthplace of the #NHS! pic.twitter.com/Yt3clcOrNM
— GM Integrated Care Partnership (@GM_ICP) July 4, 2018
However, differently from the NHS – which will see its budget increase by £20.5bn in real terms by 2024, no similar announcement was made to celebrate social care.
Happy Birthday NHS. Congratulations & thanks to #NHS70 for the amazing work you do and have done for generations.
Amidst the celebrations @Jeremy_Hunt don't forget #socialcare – please give us something to cheer about too!
— Mike Padgham (@Mike_Padgham) July 5, 2018
