| 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| Repealed by | National Health Service Act 1977 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |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 (10 & 11 Geo. 6. c. 27). Similar health services in Northern Ireland were created by the Northern Ireland Parliament through the Health Services Act (Northern Ireland) 1948 (c. 3 (N.I.)).
The whole act was replaced by the National Health Service Act 1977 (c. 49),[1] which itself is now superseded by the National Health Service Act 2006 and the Health and Social Care Act 2012.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