History of nursing

Life expectancy for men is 45, free school meals are introduced and Nursing Times is launched (article first published 2005) The Britain Nursing Times’ first readers knew was worlds away from contemporary society. The population of 38,328,000 had an average life expectancy of 45 for men and 49 for women,…

The Great War and registration turn nursing from a vocation into a profession (article first published 2005) If its first few years were in a relatively quiet period of British and nursing history, the second decade of the 20th century presented far more challenges for nurses and Nursing Times. In…

The economy is in crisis, birth control becomes a strategy and nursing sets up its first council (article first published 2005) As the country recovered from the effects of war, the Liberal coalition government led by David Lloyd George promised to build ‘a land fit for heroes’. However, with two…

Pressure mounts for state-funded health care, nursing faces staff shortages and war looms (article first published 2005) The early 1930s were dominated by the worldwide economic depression, which followed the Wall Street crash of 1929. The aftermath of the 1914–1918 war had left European economies dependent on American investment, and…

War rages across the world, the NHS is born and the nuclear and antibiotic ages begin (article first published 2005) Britain was at a low ebb as the 1940s began. German bombing had devastated towns and cities across the country, destroying military, industrial and civilian targets, while the British army…

The NHS becomes established but the now-familiar problem of nurse shortages begins to emerge (article first published 2005) Two years after the NHS began, it was starting to become clear just how much of a change this really was for nurses while the UK was still struggling to get over…

The profession is transformed by fairer pay, married women, male nurses and flexible hours (article first published 2005) The 1960s were a time of change for nursing as the profession started to gain more independence and self-control over its future, but it was a slow process. In the early 1960s,…

Nurses march over pay, the RCN becomes a trade union and discipline is relaxed to boost morale (article first published 2005) The 1970s was the decade when nurses really started to fight back against what they saw as injustice. From 1971 onwards, industrial action became a significant feature among NHS…

Aids is a new health threat, the NHS has its longest pay dispute yet and the UKCC is created (article first published 2005) The 1980s were characterised by industrial strife and upheaval in nursing. The profession was more often than not at loggerheads with the then Conservative government. Prime minister…

Nursing prepares for the 21st century by revolutionising training and taking on greater responsibility (article first published 2005) An interesting period dawned in 1990. There was a feel that the UK probably had a small surplus of nurses. But by the end of the decade, this had completely changed and…