Countess of Chester celebrates NHS75

5 July 2023 marks 75 years since the National Health Service was founded.

The NHS has touched the lives of everyone, treating millions of people every day since its inception in 1948 as the first universally free health system to be available to all.

Over the years the NHS has always evolved and adapted to meet the needs of each successive generation, delivering incredible medical advances and overcoming huge challenges along the way.

There is much to celebrate and be proud of, and this is why NHS staff, patients and the public will today be reflecting on the history and achievements of the NHS over 75 years.

The last eight decades have seen the delivery of revolutionary advances in medicine, including the world’s first liver, heart and lung transplant in 1987, the world’s first test tube baby born in 1978 and the world’s first ever CT scan in 1971.

There have been pioneering treatments such as bionic eyes, the introduction of the contraceptive pill and recent advancements in double hand transplants.

Large-scale vaccination programmes protected children from whooping cough, measles and tuberculosis, and more recently, the world’s first accredited COVID-19 vaccine programme was rolled out at a combination of speed and precision unseen elsewhere.

On a local level, in December 2020, Chester became one of the first COVID vaccination hubs in the UK, administering over 31,000 vaccinations to all ages, something staff described as ‘an amazing experience’.

To commemorate 75 years of the NHS, the milestone will be marked locally with several Chester landmarks lit up in blue on the evening of July 5 including the Eastgate Clock, Chester Town Hall and Chester Newgate.