The history of paediatric surgery in the United Kingdom and the influence of the national health service on its development

Details of the modern history of paediatric surgery in the United Kingdom with particular emphasis on the 3 main training centres in England in the 1960s to 1970s are discussed. The genesis of the National Health Service and of the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons and their influence on the establishment and siting of regional centres, education and training, and centralization of rare conditions is highlighted.