Fortress NHS – A Philosophical Review of the National Health Service (Paper only)

Fortress NHS: A Philosophical Review of the National Health Service
David Seedhouse, University of Auckland, New Zealand and University of Liverpool, UK

There are many books on the politics, history and sociology of the NHS which argue that all is not well. These books discuss the enormous complexity of the health service, assess the power of different professions and individuals and address apparently insurmountable administration difficulties. Most conclude by suggesting improvements to the various processes of the NHS, but leave its philosophy intact and unexamined. Fortress NHS takes a different path and reflects deeply upon the purpose of the health service. What inspires the NHS? What is its philosophy? What are its fundamental principles? Why are they so important? And do they hold up to careful scrutiny? This ingenious book tackles each of these questions and in so doing examines the strength of the philosophical foundations of the NHS. Fortress NHS is the sixth in a series of books from David Seedhouse, each of which applies philosophical analysis to the everyday problems of health service policy and practice. They are designed to be of interest to all those interested in health care including medical and health care professionals, health service economists and managers, social scientists, health service researchers, nurses and the informed lay person. Read together, the series constitutes a unique investigation into health care provision and offers numerous concrete proposals for philosophically justified reform.

Also by David Seedhouse:

Practical Medical Ethics, David Seedhouse and Lisetta Lovett, May 1992

Liberating Medicine, David Seedhouse, March 1991

Changing Ideas in Health Care, David Seedhouse and Alan Cribb, June 1989

Ethics: The Heart of Health Care, David Seedhouse, July 1988

Health: The Foundations for Achievement, David Seedhouse, September 1986