How many prescriptions had been written by October 1949?

• A. 187 million
• B. 100 million
• C. 250 million
• D. 300 million

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is the scale of how the new National Health Service was used in its early months, showing how quickly people accessed doctors and medicines once healthcare became widely available. By October 1949, about 187 million prescriptions had been written, which reflects a very high level of demand and activity across the country as the NHS settled in after its 1948 launch. This figure fits the reality of a population around 50 million relying on regular prescribed medicines and indicates that prescriptions were a central part of everyday healthcare, illustrating the system’s rapid uptake and the burden on doctors and pharmacists.

Numbers much lower would understate how much the NHS was used, while much higher totals would exceed what was seen in the period, making the 187 million figure the best match for the evidence.