Hospitals Hello Im Dr Ahmed Have you ever

Hospitals Hello, I’m Dr. Ahmed. Have you ever been to hospital? If so, why did you go there? How long were you at the hospital for? Let’s find out about a person who changed how we can be looked after if we are ill. In some countries, if you need to go to hospital, you have to pay a lot of money. In the UK, you don’t have to pay anything when you go to a hospital but it wasn’t always this way.

Aneurin Bevan (say ‘uh-ny-rin’) was born in Wales over 100 years ago. He was often known as ‘Nye’. Do you ever shorten your name or know someone else who does? Aneurin’s dad was a coal miner. Coal mining didn’t make much money and the family were poor. In those days, you had to pay to see a doctor. If someone from a poor family was ill, they couldn’t always afford to see a doctor, get medicine or have an operation. Wales

Aneurin Bevan Aneurin had a stammer. A stammer is when someone finds it difficult to speak. They may repeat the same sound lots of times or find it difficult to say sounds. Aneurin was shy around other children and sometimes found it difficult to make friends because of this. Has there ever been a time when you found it difficult to make friends? What did you do to solve the problem?

Aneurin’s Work Until around 30 years before Aneurin was born, you had to pay to go to most schools. Children from poor families often didn’t go to school because of this. Even when education became free, children usually left school when they were 13 years old. They would then get a job to help their families. Do you know any teenagers? How do you think they would feel if they had to get a full-time job?

Aneurin’s Work Aneurin left school at the age of 13. Like his father and brothers, Aneurin started working as a coal miner. It was a hard life, starting work before the sun was up and working very long hours for not much money. Although he couldn’t attend school any more, Aneurin carried on learning in his own time.

Struggles In 1919, Aneurin stood for the Labour party in an election. An election is when people vote for who they would like to be in charge of running an area or a country. Aneurin lost but carried on being interested in being a politician (someone who helps to run the country). During this time, he worked on improving his stammer by reciting famous speeches. He became more confident in speaking in front of people. In 1925, Aneurin’s dad died of an illness often known as ‘miners’ lung’ as it killed so many miners. The family had even less money than before. Have you ever had to overcome a problem like Aneurin’s? What did you do? How did you feel afterwards?

Politics In 1929, Aneurin became a member of parliament (MP for short). A member of parliament is someone who has been voted for to work in the Houses of Parliament. They can help make new laws and also make sure that people in their area are being looked after. In 1934, Aneurin married another MP called Jennie Lee. Just like Aneurin, Jennie’s dad had been a miner - this time in Scotland. At the end of the Second World War, in 1945, there was a general election. This is when everyone in the country gets the chance to vote for the people they would like to be in power. The group Aneurin was called the Labour party and they won the election. The Houses of Parliament

New Ideas The new government had lots of ideas. One of these ideas was to create a way to help people who didn’t have much money. This meant: • people could still get money if they were too sick to work; • money for people who lost their jobs; • pensions (money people get when they get older and stop work); • free doctor and hospital treatments for everyone. Aneurin was given an important job - he became the minister for health.

National Health Service Aneurin grew up in a place called Tredegar (say ‘tru-dee-ger’). Everyone in the town paid money into a fund. This money was then used to pay for people if they were ill and needed medicine or an operation. Aneurin thought this kind of thing would be good for the whole country. The National Health Service (NHS for short) would mean that people no longer had to pay when they needed to see a doctor. For poor families who didn’t have enough money to pay for medicines and operations, the NHS would make a big difference to their lives. How do you think people felt when the NHS started?

National Health Service On 5 th July 1948, a ceremony was held at a hospital in Manchester. Thousands of hospitals and doctors surgeries would now be free for anyone to visit.

Other Roles Aneurin also did some other important government jobs. A few years later, the Labour party lost an election. Aneurin carried on being a member of parliament. Aneurin died on 6 th July 1960 at the age of 62. He will always be remembered as one of the main people who started the NHS. Next time you go to the doctors or the hospital, why not think about him and what he did?