Nye Bevan said that “Illness is neither an indulgence for which people have to pay, nor an offence for which they should be penalised, but a misfortune, the cost of which should be shared by the community.”

The best thing about Nye was that he didn’t just talk. He translated those words and values into the actions that gave birth to our National Health Service. Healthcare free at the point of use, for the benefit of all.

If the past 18 months have shown the necessity of that concept more than ever, the pandemic has also caused great strain on health services across the world. So as well as thanking those who work in the NHS, it’s good to dwell on Nye’s concept. Because if the civility of a society is shown by how it treats its most vulnerable citizens, we have much work left to do.

If the NHS shows the best of our society, of our capacity to look out for each other and share the burdens we cannot face alone, that concept is worthy of extension.

We’ve seen those principles at work in the volunteers helping others in our communities during the pandemic. But we need to extend those values further, into how we run our social care system across the UK.

Social care is about how we treat those who need our help to live safe and fulfilled lives. It’s not just for those in later life, but that’s where we most often encounter it.

At the moment, despite the heroic work of carers both professional and unpaid, the system far too often doesn’t work for those who need care, for the cash-starved local councils trying to keep the system going, for those who have to foot the bill, or for those who work in the sector.

So I agree the system needs change. People shouldn’t have to lose everything to pay for care. But neither should low earners pay more National Insurance, when many extremely wealthy individuals and large multinationals have done very well out of the last few years and could far more easily foot the bill.

Nor should the care system rely on workers being paid the minimum wage to do an often difficult, distressing and sensitive job, looking after people in need. No wonder there is a recruitment crisis.

We need to aim higher. After all, as Nye Bevan also said: “No society can legitimately call itself civilised if a sick person is denied medical aid because of a lack of means.” If he were about today, I’m sure Nye would add that how we treat those who need or provide care says a lot about us as a nation. Let’s rise to that challenge.