Confuse and Conceal: The NHS and Independent Sector Treatment Centres

Confuse and Conceal: The NHS and Independent Sector Treatment Centres

by Colin Leys (Author), StewartPlayer (Author)

Synopsis

Unfolding a complex story told in three parts, this chronicle examines Britain's government-funded National Health Service (NHS) and its Independent Sector Treatment Center program, as it was originally intended: as a public service that cut waiting times for elective treatments such as hip and knee replacements. The book then explores how the House of Commons Health Select Committee tried to assess the NHS before, finally revealing what the the program really is: a bridgehead for the private sector to take over NHS services and staff on a steadily-growing scale. Describing how the true aims of the program have been obscured--information about the program has been regularly massaged or withheld from public scrutiny--this study exposes how the NHS is closing services and diverting patient income to for-profit providers on highly advantageous terms.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 127
Edition: 1
Publisher: The Merlin Press Ltd
Published: 21 Jan 2008

ISBN 10: 0850366097
ISBN 13: 9780850366099

Media Reviews
This is the first detailed analysis we have of the evolution, make-up and implications of independent treatment centres. What the book gives us is not only the story of a critical moment in the restructuring of the NHS but also a story of the persistent reluctance of the authorities to disclose information the public should be fully entitled to. The book should be read by anyone interested in holding our policy-makers to account. --Sally Ruane, health policy research unit, De Montfort University
Author Bio
Stewart Player is a public-policy analyst with extensive experience of studying the British National Health Service. Colin Leys is an emeritus professor of political studies at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. He is author of Market-Driven Politics: Neoliberal Democracy and the Public Interest. Wendy Savage is a visiting professor at Middlesex University.