About the speakers:
Luke Johnson is chair of Channel 4. He studied medicine at Oxford and co-founded the largest chain of principally NHS dental surgeries in the UK.
NHS at 60 debate now available to view online
The joint BMJ-King's Fund debate to mark the NHS's 60th anniversary is now available to view as video on demand and as a BMJ podcast. Held on 25 June 2008 at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, the motion - "The founding principles of the NHS (services funded only by taxation and available to all regardless of ability to pay) are no longer relevant in 21st century Britain" - was defeated, with 65% of the audience voting against the motion. A similar poll on bmj.com had 700 votes, with 70% agreeing that the founding principles are still relevant today.
The debate was chaired by broadcaster and journalist John Humphrys, the motion proposed by Luke Johnson and Karol Sikora and opposed by Paul Corrigan and Polly Toynbee.
The BMJ is also marking the anniversary with a six-part series of articles about the NHS at 60, written by deputy editor Tony Delamothe.
Read more articles on the NHS at 60
From the blogs:
Karol Sikora is medical director of Cancer Partners UK.
Paul Corrigan has been director of strategy and commissioning for London since June 2007. He worked as a health policy adviser to the government from 2001 to 2007.
Polly Toynbee is a political and social commentator on the Guardian and was BBC social affairs editor from 1988 to 1996. She has written books on the NHS, adoption and unskilled work.
Our sponsors:
