60 years of the UK's National Health Service and the NHS is treating more people than ever and the population is living longer, healthier lives. That's the good news. But what about the bad news? Most histories of medicine concentrate on 'who invented what' or on the lives of great medical figures. This history looks at the effect on medical science of politics, religion, money supply and social mores. Illustrated throughout by the very coins with which the the medical staff may have been paid this book is a reminder that medicine has never been free. Someone has to pay for it and in most developed countries that someone is, at least in part, the taxpayer. Are we getting value for money and would another system provide a better service? Having examined the history of State Medicine the book looks in depth at the problems facing the NHS and compares them with healthcare delivery in other developed nations from around the world. State medicine with all its warts! Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the NHS in a critical but balanced manner!
