Labour MP Aneurin Bevan was the architect of the National Health Service when it was born on July 5, 1948. His post-Second World War vision was to provide free healthcare to everyone across the UK in need of it, the same no matter how rich or poor they are.

Paid for by public taxes, the NHS was designed to offer cradle-to-the-grave care, free for all, at the point of need. Sixty years on, it is barely recognisable as modern day service and care has advanced over the years.

Financial pressures have led to dilution of its principles over the years — for example the introduction of prescription charges in 1951, which led to Bevan's resignation, and charges for eye and dental care.

But many argue that the NHS is still based on its founding principles.

William Grant, a unionist member of the Northern Ireland Parliament, was the first minister in charge of health when the Northern Ireland Hospitals Authority and General Health Services Board were set up in 1948.

Department of Health figures show there were 342 consultants, specialists, registrars and other medical staff and 3,516 nursing staff employed in 1948 — compared with 2008 figures of 3,652 consultants, specialists, registrars and other medical staff and 16,305 qualified nursing staff.

Today's Health Minister, Michael McGimpsey, spoke of the impact the NHS has had.

"During those 60 years, our society has changed radically. We are living longer, we are healthier — yet at some point, every one of us will need the support of our caring services," he said.

"When the NHS was established in 1948, few could have envisaged the impact it would have on people's lives. Nor could they have foreseen the major and radical breakthroughs that would come in medical technology and clinical practice, in the treatment of ill health and injury, in the care of the most vulnerable in society.

"A glimpse into the past 60 years shows how far we have travelled and how much this service has impacted on the people of Northern Ireland. It is a legacy we can all be proud of — a legacy worth protecting as we face the challenges the future will bring."

Bevan himself showed remarkable foresight on the financial pressures his NHS would face when he said in 1948: "We shall never have all we need. Expectations will always exceed capacity. The service must always be changing, growing and improving — it must always appear inadequate."

Northern Ireland's Health Service has grown in a different direction from other UK regions and is in the unique position of integrating health and social care. Other unique problems have included pressure from the Troubles and horrendous waiting lists, once the highest in Europe, and only corrected in recent years.

Heavy bureaucracy has come to burden the whole of the NHS, something the Review of Public Administration is addressing locally. Our 19 Health Trusts merged into six last April and the four Health Boards will follow next year when they merge into one.

There's much to celebrate about the NHS on its 60th birthday, but can it continue?

Dr Brian Patterson, chairman of the British Medical Association's Northern Ireland Council, is not sure. "I think the greatest achievement of the NHS is its existence for 60 years and remaining true to its principles, to a huge extent, despite changes in demography, illness and politics," he said.

"For all its problems, the NHS is a jewel of a health service which many will only appreciate if it disappears."