The political economy of health care: Where the NHS came from and where it could leadWith a foreword by Tony Benn. Drawing on clinical experience dating from the birth of the NHS in 1948, Julian Tudor Hart, a politically active GP in a Welsh coal mining community, charts the progress of the NHS from its 19th century origins in workers' mutual aid societies, to its current forced return to the market. His starting point is a detailed analysis of how clinical decisions are made. He explores the changing social relationships in the NHS as a gift economy, how these may be affected by reducing care to commodity status, and the new directions they might take if the NHS resumed progress independently from the market. This edition of this bestselling book has been entirely rewritten with two new chapters, and includes new material on resistance to that world-wide process. The essential principle in the book is that patients need to develop as active citizens and co-producers of health gain in a humanising society and the author's aim is to promote it wherever people recognise that pursuit of profit may be a brake on rational progress. |
Contents
two What does it produce? | 11 |
three How does it produce? | 35 |
four Generalists and specialists | 85 |
five Ownership | 113 |
six Justice and solidarity | 149 |
seven A space in which to learn | 169 |
Index of names | 295 |
Other editions - View all
The Political Economy of Health Care: Where the NHS Came from and where it ... Julian Tudor Hart No preview available - 2010 |
Common terms and phrases
19th century areas become behaviour Britain British Journal British Medical Journal cancer cholecystectomy classical economics clinical clinicians commodity consultation consumerism consumers continuing costs culture decisions depend developed diagnosis disease doctors effective England evidence experience funding gallstones generalists gift economy global Glyncorrwg health care systems health gain Health Service hospital human hysterectomy illness income industrial interventions investment Julian Tudor Hart Labour Party Lancet least less London measure Medicine methylphenidate miners mortality National Health Service nurses operation organised ownership participation patients political poor population potential practice primary problems production professional profit programme public health public service rates recognised referral responsibility risk Royal College schizophrenia seems skills social social class Socialist Health Association society solidarity Somatisation South Wales specialists staff surgery symptoms trade treatment virtually workers