Following the US debate on free healthcare, there has been much discussion of our own National Health Service. Are we lucky to have healthcare which is free at the point of access, or is the NHS riddled with problems such as bureaucracy and overworked staff? How should it be decided which medicines should be free and which shouldn’t? Is free healthcare a right, or a privilege? This book looks at the complex relationship between individual health and state-provided healthcare.

The information comes from a wide range of sources and includes government reports and statistics, newspaper reports, features, magazine articles and surveys, literature from lobby groups and charitable organisations.