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The Greeks dedicated temples to the sick and infirm but public hospitals as such did not appear until the 4th century when Basil of Caesarea founded the first hospital at Mazaca in what is now Turkey. They then spread rapidly through Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia. They began to be divided into departments such as systemic diseases, surgery and orthopaedics. Gradually they transitioned from religious into secular institutions, many paid for by private subscriptions. They also became centres of medical innovation and the natural starting place for prospective practitioners.

Florence Nightingale pioneered the modern profession of nursing during the Crimean War, after which she worked tirelessly to improve hospital sanitation and administration. . During the First World War an outpouring of patriotism brought large numbers of untrained middle-class women into the military hospitals which further heightened the prestige of nursing.

The National Health Service, the principal provider of health care in Britain, was founded in 1948, and ensured health care was free at the point of delivery. As in education, however, there is a two-tier system where people can still pay for some services.