Service design in the public sector is, as Lou says, 10% innovation and 90% archaeology, and never more so than when working in a great national institution in its 70th year.
Realising I needed to learn more about the history of our National Health Service, I asked the Twitter crowd where to start. Here’s what people said:
- James referred me to the wonderful resource that is the King’s Fund Library, who have a History of the NHS reading list. In particular, he mentioned Geoffrey Rivett – ‘From cradle to grave : fifty years of the NHS‘
- Lorna highlighted the work of the NHS at 70 team, to create a shared social history of the NHS
- Dean recommended starting with the 1942 Beveridge Report which set out, in the middle of the Second World War, a comprehensive new vision for post-war social welfare
- Peter pointed me to Nicholas Timmins – ‘The Five Giants: A Biography of the Welfare State‘
- Jamie sent me back even further, to 1938, A L Morton – ‘People’s History of England‘
- And Harry, like me, was inspired by the clarity of this leaflet delivered to households in 1948, introducing the New National Health Service…
What else should I look at?
Matt Edgar writes here 
“Can Gerry Robinson Fix the NHS” was a fascinating documentary if you can get hold of it.