Health care as a business? The emergence of a commercial hospital sector in Britain
In: Policy & politics: advancing knowledge in public and social policy, Band 14, Heft 1986
ISSN: 0305-5736
Examines the recent development of the private sector of health care in Great Britain. It argues that while the Thatcher Government has acted to bolster the fortunes of private medicine, electoral considerations have formed an obstacle to the pursuit of more radical policies. Nevertheless, privatisation has grown considerably in its own right since 1979. The salient features of privatisation are defined and the nature of its provisions discussed. In conclusion, it is suggested that the private sector of health care is undergoing a process of commercialisation similar to that which has occurred in the health industry in the USA. Brief mention is made of the US setting. (AM)