The Plot Against the NHS

Revealing the British coalition government's plans, this examination demonstrates how a small "policy community" inside and outside the Department of Health have schemed for ten years to replace the National Health Service (NHS) with a US-style healthcare market without informing parliament or the public. While ex-ministers, officials, and the like profit from lucrative positions in private health companies, the population must cope with the increasing healthcare costs and the diminishing quality of care. With accounts from NHS patients and doctors, the key strategies of implementation are uncovered and the companies involved--their lobby, their businesses, their fortunes, and, in some cases, their crimes--exposed.

Colin Leys is an emeritus professor at Queen’s University in Canada and an honorary professor at Goldsmiths College in London. He is the author of Market-Driven Politics, Total Capitalism, and The Rise and Fall of Development Theory. Stewart Player is a public policy analyst with extensive experience in studying the United Kingdom's National Health Service. He is the coauthor with Colin Leys of Confuse and Conceal: The NHS and Independent Treatment Centres.