by Dr Gavin Francis
In 1948, the headlines read ‘Free For All’ as the birth of the NHS pioneered a model of healthcare based on justice, dignity and care for everyone. So how has it come to offer such poor service for patients today?
Healthcare professionals in the NHS continue to work under immense pressure, despite chronic underfunding, near-zero capital investment, negligent workforce planning, political infighting and a drift towards privatisation. The health service’s ‘new normal’ is a permanent state of crisis. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
FREE FOR ALL is a love letter to an institution that has never been perfect, but which for seventy-five years has transformed the lives and health of millions – paid for by everybody, for everybody. With a rare and deeply felt eloquence, GP and bestselling author Dr Gavin Francis guides us through its inner workings – and illuminates how and why it can be saved.
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