British health policy has undergone radical change in the postwar period and Virginia Berridge provides here a concise and accessible survey of these changes since 1939. While the rise, and recent decline, of the NHS is examined in detail, this book also looks at the changes in the role of doctors and associated medical professions, and the recent emphasis on "health promotion" and "primary care." Also considered are the role that lay people, especially women, play in providing health care, and the transition of the individual from "patient" to "consumer."

1. Introduction: historiographical contexts. Writing about the war and the post-war period; 2. Health and the Second World War; 3. Health policy, health and society, 1948-74; 4. Health policy, health and society, 1974-90s; Conclusion; Further reading.