UK marks 75th anniversary of health service amid protests, crisis

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Britain on Wednesday celebrates the 75th anniversary of its National Health Service (NHS), the publicly-funded health care system.

It is being marked by many, including events across the country at a time when the system is in the spotlight because of strikes and protests regarding pay disputes and working conditions.

"Today the NHS is 75 years old. For me, the NHS is all about the staff who run it," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wrote on Twitter.

The Department of Health and Social Care said: "Always evolving, adapting and innovating to keep people healthier for longer."

Parliamentarians joined top NHS staff for a special run to celebrate.

Twenty-two MPs, from a range of political parties, ran around St. James’s Park in central London.

A lack of staff resulting in long waiting lists at hospitals' Accidents and Emergency (A&E) services are among complaints by patients and staff.

In a bid to resolve problems the NHS faces, the government has unveiled a 15-year workforce plan and said it is the “most ambitious transformation” in the health service's history.

The plan will result in the largest-ever increase in the number of doctors and nurses, Sunak said at a news conference last week.

He said in a speech Jan. 4, that cutting waiting lists is one of the top five priorities of his government.