| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act to provide for the establishment of a comprehensive health service for England and Wales, and for purposes connected therewith. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 9 & 10 Geo. 6. c. 81 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 6 November 1946 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repeals/revokes | |
| Repealed by | National Health Service Act 1977 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The National Health Service Act 1946 (9 & 10 Geo. 6. c. 81) came into effect on 5 July 1948 and created the National Health Service in England and Wales thus being the first implementation of the Beveridge model. Though the title 'National Health Service' implies a single health service for the United Kingdom, in reality one NHS was created for England and Wales accountable to the Secretary of State for Health, with a separate NHS created for Scotland accountable to the Secretary of State for Scotland by the passage of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1947. Similar health services in Northern Ireland were created by the Northern Ireland Parliament through the Health Services Act (Northern Ireland) 1948.
The whole Act was replaced by the National Health Service Act 1977,[1] which itself is now superseded by the National Health Service Act 2006 and the Health and Social Care Act 2012.
- ^ National Health Service Act 1977, Schedule 16 at Legislation.gov.uk