Reviews : Under Scrutiny:Europe and the British Health Service. Lord Wade. London: Bedford Square Press 1974. Pp. 95. Price £1 .00
Abstract
62 Reviews Under ScrutinyEurope and the British Health Service. Lord Wade. London: Bedford Square Press 1974. Pp. 95. Price £1 .00 SAGE Publications, Inc.1975DOI: 10.1177/001789697503400209 W. Norman-Taylor THERE would seem to be no question that our National Health Service-or the "British Health Service" as Lord Wade calls it-is due for searching reappraisal in the near future. Doctors have given warning that it is grinding to a halt, patients are dissatisfied and health workers are using it as a political football. Moreover, whatever its merits and den-.erits, the NHS will soon have to come under scrutiny by the EEC as part of its programme towards an integrated social policy. Our NHS is a system unique in the \\or)d; it is comprehensive, and is available to all depending on their need, not on their ability to pay. No payment is made by the patient, and it is funded out of taxation not out of Social Security contributions. The recent painful and expensive reorganization of the NHS has not in any way altered this. If there is to be rationalization of the Social Security systems in the EEC then it is likely that our system will have to be modified in