Stephen Hawking's Speech On The NHS Is So, So Powerful
14 March 2018, 09:42 | Updated: 14 March 2018, 09:56
Stephen Hawking gave the keynote speech on the NHS at the Royal College of Medicine last year - and it was a powerful reminder of what makes the NHS so good.
The world-renowned scientist died peacefully in his sleep last night, having been given just two years to live after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 1963.
Last August, he spoke about how the NHS care he received throughout his life was substantially better than the private care from the US.
He said: "I have had a lot of experience of the NHS and the care I received has enabled me to live my life as I want and to contribute to major advances in our understanding of the universe
"Sometimes I have had to challenge the medical opinion to get the care I need, but the important thing is that a principles of the NHS I mean that there is good care available and that it is provided at the point of need to everyone without regard for a personal circumstance or ability to pay.
"These are the principles of universal and comprehensive provision on which the NHS was founded.
"It is important that care is available without any of the added burdens for people that come with private health insurance.
"To be able to access that care from doctors and hospitals without having to go through an intermediary in the form of an insurance company or a deal with massive amounts of paperwork before and after is crucial to good health."
