BAPRAS commemorates 70 years of the NHS

5^th July 2018

We celebrate the NHS turning 70 years old

While the origins of both BAPRAS and the NHS lie in the very early twentieth century, both organisations were officially founded in the wake of the Second World War with a common aim of helping those in need. Both free universal healthcare and plastic surgery were concepts that had not previously existed freely in Britain, making them both revolutionary developments for the time.

The NHS was founded just 2 years after BAPRAS on 5 July 1948 and was described by Labour’s secretary for Health at the time, Nye Bevan as: “The single greatest experiment in social service that the world has ever seen”. It has since become the largest publicly-funded health service in the world and remains at the very heart of British public life.

Plastic surgery has developed dramatically in the 70 years of the NHS, especially in the last 40 years. Patients with extensive burns have a much better chance of survival. The development of microsurgery has revolutionised reconstructive surgery, making it possible to reconstruct wounds such as from trauma or from cancer with much better outcomes for patients in terms of function and appearance, and with much shorter stays in hospital and quicker recovery.

To this day, a number of plastic surgery procedures are available on the NHS. In fact, they even recommend checking whether your surgeon is a member of BAPRAS, recognising our high standard of delivering excellent care to patients.

The demand for plastic and reconstructive surgery increases each year. The number of consultant plastic surgeons working in the NHS also increases each year, but there is still some way to go before our specialty can provide the best possible service to our patients.

For more information on the NHS turning 70 and the history of BAPRAS, see the links below:

BAPRAS commemorates 70 years of the NHS

NHS

BAPRAS

Other Resources

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