It has long been a source of frustration for politicians that if you ask a member of the public what they think of the National Health Service they will grumble and moan and say it is all going to rack and ruin.

Like buses, NHS reforms tend to come in fits and starts. We haven’t had any for a while, but this week – to coincide with the NHS birthday bash – three came along at once.

As the NHS celebrates its sixtieth birthday this week, what might its first minister, Aneurin Bevan, make of the service he helped create? A new ten-year-plan, launched this week by health minister Lord Darzi, promises a patient-centred shift in focus, and fresh debates are emerging about the direct...

NHS managers have welcomed moves to link a proportion of trust income to patient satisfaction but are calling for organisations to be judged fairly.

Radical changes to the way NHS dentists are paid have failed to improve access and quality of care, the Commons health select committee has said.

General medical services in Scotland cost £160m more than planned after the new contract for doctors was introduced, according to an Audit Scotland survey.

High quality care should run through all aspects of NHS provision, health minister Lord Darzi said on June 30, as he outlined the conclusions of his 12-month review of the NHS.

Four more NHS foundation trusts have been announced, taking the total over 100.

Ofsted inspectors have criticised the standard of science teaching, particularly in primary schools.

The NHS must work harder to convince a sceptical public if it is to shift care closer to patients’ homes, according to the King’s Fund think-tank.