GCSE History | Medicine in the 20th Century and the NHS

History Quiz - Medicine: The Twentieth Century (Questions)

Medicine in the twentieth century saw huge changes, from antibiotics to the NHS. This quiz helps you revise key people, discoveries, and turning points in modern healthcare.

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Fascinating Fact:

In 1948 the National Health Service (NHS) was created in Britain. It provided healthcare free at the point of use for all citizens.

In GCSE History Medicine, you explore how ideas about disease, prevention, and treatment developed from 1900 onwards. You study antibiotics, vaccines, war surgery, public health, and the creation of the NHS.

Key Terms

Antibiotic: A drug that kills or slows the growth of bacteria inside the body.
National Health Service (NHS): A state-run health system in Britain that provides healthcare funded by taxation.
Magic bullet: A drug designed to target and destroy a specific germ without harming the rest of the body.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What were the main medical advances in the twentieth century?

Key advances included the discovery and mass use of antibiotics, new vaccines, safer surgery, blood transfusions, improved X-ray and scanning techniques, and government-funded healthcare systems such as the NHS.

How did the world wars change medicine?

The world wars forced doctors to treat large numbers of casualties quickly. This led to advances in blood transfusions, plastic surgery, infection control, rehabilitation, and better organisation of medical services.

Why was the NHS important in British medical history?

The NHS was important because it removed cost as a barrier to treatment. For the first time, everyone in Britain could access doctors, hospitals, and medicines based on need, not ability to pay.

Try These Related Quizzes

Which one of the following types of organisations provided health insurance before the setting up of the NHS?

[ ]	Lotteries
[ ]	Friendly Societies
[ ]	Health Clubs
[ ]	Food Banks

In Beveridge's Report of 1942, he argued in favour of a welfare state, including a free health service. Which of the following categories of people did he feel deserving of free health care?

[ ]	Bombing casualties
[ ]	Black market operators
[ ]	Conscientious objectors
[ ]	Returning exiles

Which doctors' organisation at first rejected the NHS idea, and then changed its mind?

[ ]	The British Medical Association
[ ]	The Royal College of Surgeons
[ ]	The Royal College of Physicians
[ ]	The "Lancet"

Which elected government bodies opposed the NHS, as they would have to relinquish control over local hospitals?

[ ]	National Assistance Boards
[ ]	Local authorities
[ ]	Community Health Councils
[ ]	Trades Councils

Which cabinet minister steered the NHS legislation through by the summer of 1948?

[ ]	Ernest Bevin
[ ]	Herbert Morrison
[ ]	Hugh Dalton
[ ]	Aneurin Bevan

Which group of medical practitioners were allowed under the NHS to keep their lucrative private practices as well as their NHS salaries?

[ ]	GPs
[ ]	Consultants
[ ]	Registrars
[ ]	Junior Hospital Doctors

All NHS treatment was free at the point of use, but in the early 1950s charges were imposed on certain items to pay for the Korean War. Which of the following was now charged?

[ ]	Creams for skin infections
[ ]	Vaccinations against smallpox
[ ]	False teeth
[ ]	Hearing aids

In 1969 responsibility for health care in Wales was removed from the Secretary of State for Health and given to which other minister?

[ ]	The Secretary of State for Wales
[ ]	The Home Secretary
[ ]	The Chancellor of the Exchequer
[ ]	The Foreign Secretary

The Conservatives under Thatcher and the Labour Party under Blair sought more funding for the NHS from the private sector. Blair's PFI was highly controversial. What does PFI stand for?

[ ]	Public Finance Initiative
[ ]	Private Funding Initiative
[ ]	Private Finance Initiative
[ ]	Private Funds Idea

10.

Which of the following factors is the greatest long-term threat to the NHS's present structure and organisation?

[ ]	A higher percentage of children surviving into adulthood
[ ]	The elimination of dangerous diseases
[ ]	The continued prevalence of peace over war
[ ]	An increasingly ageing population, as people live longer lives without directly contributing in most cases to the Service's funds

History Quiz - Medicine: The Twentieth Century (Answers)

Which one of the following types of organisations provided health insurance before the setting up of the NHS?

[ ]	Lotteries
[x]	Friendly Societies
[ ]	Health Clubs
[ ]	Food Banks

If you did not wish to pay for health care, charitable provision or insurance policies were the only alternatives before 1948

In Beveridge's Report of 1942, he argued in favour of a welfare state, including a free health service. Which of the following categories of people did he feel deserving of free health care?

[x]	Bombing casualties
[ ]	Black market operators
[ ]	Conscientious objectors
[ ]	Returning exiles

Beveridge was a liberal, but it was the Labour Party that embraced his ideas and carried them out

Which doctors' organisation at first rejected the NHS idea, and then changed its mind?

[x]	The British Medical Association
[ ]	The Royal College of Surgeons
[ ]	The Royal College of Physicians
[ ]	The "Lancet"

The Labour Government was skilled at dividing the medical profession by buying off sections of it with bribes

Which elected government bodies opposed the NHS, as they would have to relinquish control over local hospitals?

[ ]	National Assistance Boards
[x]	Local authorities
[ ]	Community Health Councils
[ ]	Trades Councils

It was decided at an early stage that hospitals would be centrally controlled

Which cabinet minister steered the NHS legislation through by the summer of 1948?

[ ]	Ernest Bevin
[ ]	Herbert Morrison
[ ]	Hugh Dalton
[x]	Aneurin Bevan

This was a job that demanded great patience, tact and determination

Which group of medical practitioners were allowed under the NHS to keep their lucrative private practices as well as their NHS salaries?

[ ]	GPs
[x]	Consultants
[ ]	Registrars
[ ]	Junior Hospital Doctors

Private practice was far from abolished: it was tolerated, even encouraged

All NHS treatment was free at the point of use, but in the early 1950s charges were imposed on certain items to pay for the Korean War. Which of the following was now charged?

[ ]	Creams for skin infections
[ ]	Vaccinations against smallpox
[x]	False teeth
[ ]	Hearing aids

The Chancellor of the Exchequer could see no other way of paying for this foreign policy crisis

In 1969 responsibility for health care in Wales was removed from the Secretary of State for Health and given to which other minister?

[x]	The Secretary of State for Wales
[ ]	The Home Secretary
[ ]	The Chancellor of the Exchequer
[ ]	The Foreign Secretary

This move was undertaken partly to satisfy Welsh public opinion. But it is not clear that it made health provision in Wales more efficient