NHS Plc: The Privatisation of Our Health Care [Paperback]

"An excellent guide, not only to the woes of the NHS but, by extension, to those of all the public services in Britain. ... It is a lamentable tale of private enterprise without enterprise, and public expenditure without public purpose." -- New Statesman "This is a shocking story, brilliantly told." -- Raymond Tillis, author of Hippocratic Oaths: Medicine and Its Discontents "A tale that demands to be read by every person in this country who has a stake in the NHS and the remnants of the welfare state, and indeed, everyone with democratic instincts ... told with lucid and detailed authority." -- The Guardian "Allyson Pollock confirms suspicions that something is rotten in the state of the UK's health system. NHS plc should be required reading for every clinician and patient in the UK." - The Lancet "Pollock applies a remorseless logic that is hard to resist ... a stimulating and powerful argument." - Times Higher Education Supplement "A brave, necessary book. And because you know the government thinks you shouldn't read it, you probably should." -- British Medical Journal

'Professor Pollock offers a critical contribution to the key issues in contemporary political and policy debate.' --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

'If "what matters is what works", this book makes clear that healthcare markets can not serve the British people well.’ --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

With a third Labour government in power, the gradual privatization of the NHS looks set to continue apace. How this has come about - to the point where even the shrinking core of free NHS hospital services is being handed over to private providers at the taxpayers' expense - is still not widely understood, far reaching policy change being hidden behind slogans like 'care in the community', 'diversity' and 'local ownership'. Allyson Pollock demystifies these terms, and in doing so presents a clear and powerful analysis of the transition from a comprehensive and universal service to New Labour's 'mixed economy of health care', in which hospitals with foundation status, loosely supervised by an independent regulator, will be run on largely market principles.

Allyson Pollock is Professor of Health Policy and Health Services Research at University College London. A public health doctor, she researches and publishes widely on health policy issues and is a frequent contributor to radio and television discussions.