An examination of the political significance of the privitization of NHS ancillary services. In particular, it argues that the existence of the NHS as a pole of opposition to "Thatcherite" and "new right" ideas and values gave the health service a special role in articulating left wing politics.

Provides wide-ranging anaylses and reviews of the UK's experiences of health inequalities research and policy to date, and reflects on the lessons that have been learnt from these experiences, both within the UK and internationally.

In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.

The contribution of the German sociologist and philosopher Jurgen Habermas has proved seminal for attempts to understand the nature of social change in the context of global capitalism. This book provides an accessible introduction to his work and shows how his theories can be fruitfully applied to a wide range of topics in the sociology of health and illness including: * lay health knowledge * doctor-patient interaction * health care decision-making * health inequalities * new social movements in health * health care rationing * the Foucault perspective. Habermas, Critical Theory and Health will open up both new issues and new lines of empirical enquiry which will be of special interest to teachers and students of social theory and the sociology of health and illness and offers healthcare professionals new perspectives on their practice.

Based on original research, this book examines the role of various institutions in the formation and implementation of health policy, and considers the impact of devolution on health policy and the role of European and international organisations.

The NHS came into existence in an atmosphere of conflict centred on the strong ideological commitment of the Post-war Labour Government and the opposition of the Conservative Party of that time to the idea of a universally available and centrally planned medical care service. There was also opposition from some sections of the medical establishment who feared the loss of professional autonomy. Setting health policy in both an historical and modern context (post 1997) Carrier and Kendall weigh up the successes and failures of the National Health Service and examine the conflicts which have continued for over sixty years, in spite of efforts to solve financial problems in the NHS through increases in funding as well as structural and organisational change. After looking at recent responses to supposed failures of the NHS, they conclude that the NHS has successfully faced the challenges before it and is likely to continue to meet the changing health needs of the population. Financial stresses, concerns about the quality of care and demographic change, with consequent issues for the elderly and the chronically ill, continue to be urgent and politically contentious issues. This book is appropriate for a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate students studying health policy and the NHS.

In recent years the pace of reform in health policy and the NHS has been relentless. But how are policies formed and implemented? This fully updated edition of a bestselling book explores the processes and institutions that make health policy, examining what constitutes health policy, where power lies, and what changes could be made to improve the quality of health policy making. Drawing on original research by the author over many years, and a wide range of secondary sources, the book examines the role of various institutions in the formation and implementation of health policy. Unlike most standard texts, it considers the impact of devolution in the UK and the role of European and international institutions and fills a need for an up-to-date overview of this fast-moving area. It features new case studies to illustrate how policy has evolved and developed in recent years. This new edition has been fully updated to reflect policies under the later years of New Labour and the Coalition government. Although written particularly with the needs of students and tutors in mind, this accessible textbook will also appeal to policy makers and practitioners in the health policy field.