The Patients' Association—

Abstract

When the National Health Service was introduced in U.K. in 1948 it was hailed as a major step forward in social reform. No longer would sick people have the additional worry of doctors' bills; nor would they suffer the indignity of receiving charitable treatment in voluntary hospitals; nor would they go without treatment. By introducing a national service, financed from public funds, society provided comprehensive insurance against sickness for all its members, but this has involved the...