Restructuring the Health Service

Originally published in 1978, this book argues powerfully for a fundamental restructuring of the health service in the UK from the viewpoint of the patient. It is deeply critical of the structure of decision-making in the health service which at the time of publication was rooted in the administrators and the medical profession. The author maintains that through their power struggle for control over the service these two groups have distorted the development of community-based institutions within the health service. The inequalities and inconsistencies of the service are illustrated by detailed examination of the official statistics and Western medical practices are contrasted with those in the developing world.