women and men – nurses, doctors, midwives, health visitors, cooks and carpenters – who travelled from the Caribbean to staff British hospitals from the late 1940s through to the 1960s. They were interviewed specifically for this book. Their voices and experiences give a vivid picture of what life was like for them in the UK and the NHS at that time, and how their determination and dedication enabled the NHS to provide its essential service.

Origins of the NHS

On 5 July 1948 the NHS came into being. For the first time ever, people in Britain could access healthcare completely free at the point of delivery, no matter what their status and without need for

In 1945 World War Two finally ended. In Britain, a Labour government came to power with a programme of radical social reforms that would create a welfare state for postwar Britain. Central to these reforms was the National Health Service (NHS) – the world’s first comprehensive health service, which provided health care free for every British citizen, according to need rather than means.

From the very beginning, nurses, doctors and other hospital workers from the Caribbean played a major role in the NHS. Then, as now, the NHS would not have been able to function without them. Yet their role and contributions are not covered in social or political histories of the NHS – they have been left out. This book aims to redress the imbalance and place

Caribbean nurses, doctors and ancillary workers where they belong, in the forefront of the development of the NHS.

This book looks at the origins of the NHS, how West Indian nurses and health workers were recruited to work in NHS hospitals, the work they did and their experiences. It includes reminiscences from more than 30 Caribbean

“Since the health service came into being in 1948, its very backbone has depended on a steady stream of imported, trained health professionals. The NHS would never have been able to meet Britain’s growing health needs without them.” Trevor Phillips, Chair of the Commission for Racial Equality