The National Health Service, described by Nigel Lawson as Britain's only 'national religion', has never been more popular. So why is the government so desperate to reform it? Last year, the Office of National Statistics reported higher public satisfaction with the NHS than at any time since its foundation. In a 2012 survey of developed countries, the UK showed the highest public support of its health system. Politicians can hardly be surprised then, when their plans to reforms are met with public dismay and professional fury. This year has seen one of the most bruising political battles ever fought over the future of the NHS. The twenty-two month fight to push the NHS and Social Care Act through parliament prompted the most widespread political campaign by doctors since Aneurin Bevan established the NHS in 1948. It cost the coalition government dearly and shredded the reputation of the Secretary of State for Health. So why did they do it? God Bless the NHS looks at the ideology behind the current reforms and the reasons why the government decided to take on the nation's most treasured institution. Roger Taylor looks equivocally at those who support and oppose the new system, and at the patchy history of attempts to reform the NHS and the likelihood of the success this time round. Finally, it addresses the political failure at the heart of the problem and the inevitable conflict when politics and medicine mix.

A history of Britain’s healthcare system, from the Victorian era to the post-World War II beginnings of the NHS to the Coronavirus pandemic. The Coronavirus pandemic in 2020 has changed life as we know it and thrust the NHS into the spotlight. A nation in lockdown has adorned windows with rainbows and stepped onto doorsteps every Thursday to celebrate the people who are risking their lives by turning up to work. But as the grim reports of deaths from the disease cumulate, along with stories of insufficient protective equipment for staff, there is hope that the crisis will raise awareness and bring change to the way the NHS and its people are treated. At midnight on 5 July 1948, the National Health Service was born with the founding principal to be free at the point of use and based on clinical need rather than on a person’s ability to pay. Over seventy years since its formation, these core principals still hold true, but the world has changed. Persistent underfunding has not kept pace with increased demand for healthcare, leading to longer waiting times, staffing shortages and low morale. This book traces the history of our health service, from Victorian healthcare and the early 20th century, through a timeline of change to the current day, comparing the problems and illnesses of 1948 to those we face today. Politics and funding are demystified and the effects of the pandemic are discussed, alongside personal stories from frontline staff and patients who have experienced our changing NHS. “Ellen's book takes us on an emotional journey through the history of our beloved NHS. This should be compulsory reading for anyone who thinks the NHS is safe in the hands of anyone but the Labour Party. Absolutely enthralling.” —Books Monthly

An engaging, inclusive history of the NHS, exploring its surprising survival—and the people who have kept it running In recent decades, a wave of appreciation for the NHS has swept across the UK. Britons have clapped for frontline workers and championed the service as a distinctive national achievement. All this has happened in the face of ideological opposition, marketization, and workforce crises. But how did the NHS become what it is today? In this wide-ranging history, Andrew Seaton examines the full story of the NHS. He traces how the service has changed and adapted, bringing together the experiences of patients, staff from Britain and abroad, and the service’s wider supporters and opponents. He explains not only why it survived the neoliberalism of the late twentieth century but also how it became a key marker of national identity. Seaton emphasizes the resilience of the NHS—perpetually “in crisis” and yet perennially enduring—as well as the political values it embodies and the work of those who have tirelessly kept it afloat.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of the NHS reforms ushered in by UK Coalition Government under the 2012 Health and Social Care Act, arguably the most extensive reforms ever introduced in the NHS. Contributions from leading researchers from the UK, the US and New Zealand examine the reforms in the contexts of national health policy, commissioning and service provision, governance and others. Collectively, the chapters presents a broader assessment of the trajectory of health reforms in the context of marketisation, the rise of health consumerism and the revelation of medical scandals. This is essential reading for those studying the NHS, those who work in it, and those who seek to gain a better understanding of this key public service.

The National Health Service remains the sacred cow of British politics – any criticism is considered beyond the pale, guaranteed to trigger angry responses and accusations of bad faith. This book argues that the NHS should not be insulated from reasoned debate. In terms of health outcomes, it is one of the worst systems in the developed world, well behind those of other high-income countries. The NHS does achieve universal access to healthcare, but so do the health systems in every other developed country (with the exception of the US). Britain is far from being the only country where access to healthcare does not depend on an individual’s ability to pay. Author Kristian Niemietz draws on a wealth of international evidence to develop a vision for a universal healthcare system based on consumer sovereignty, freedom of choice, competition and pluralism. His roadmap for reform charts a path from the status quo to a more desirable and effective alternative.

Burdened with perennially rising costs and responsible for providing health insurance to more than one sixth of all Americans, Medicare in its original form is fiscally and demographically unsustainable. In light of dramatic reforms under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), this book provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of Medicare. Eleanor D. Kinney explains how the ACA addresses systemic problems of cost and volume inflation, quality assurance, and fraud. Recognizing the potential for more radical change in the future, Kinney also explores the potential of Medicare to become a single-payer system. Comparisons are made with national health systems in Canada and the United Kingdom, from which the United States can draw valuable lessons. An approachable yet comprehensive account of Medicare and the ACA, this book will be invaluable for health care professionals and informed citizens.

The book takes as its starting point the crisis of healthcare in the UK: impossible health targets managed through command and control management and a stomach-churning rise in racism, whistleblowing and victimisation in the NHS. The use of nationally set productivity targets combined with austerity cuts have increasingly put clinical best-practice into direct conflict with funding. Health targets have become politically controlled, and performance has become a cynical exercise in ticking boxes, cascaded within trusts and bulldozed through frontline services. This has led directly to a precarious system of employment relations, subject to the continual restructuring of services rather than the goal of creating functioning interdisciplinary teams that stand a chance of capturing clinical excellence. This book is written for workers and managers who are on the frontline of the battle for decent healthcare. The content of this book is based on the ‘ordinary’ expertise of the people who are actually surviving it and helpful ideas about making the best out of a bad lot. Surviving Work in Healthcare will be of interest to healthcare professionals and anyone working on the frontline of healthcare as well as students of management, human resources and psychology.