Who Should We Treat?

We invest more in health care than ever before, yet we are more anxious about doctors, hospitals, and the NHS in general. As perceptions of patients' rights have expanded, so has the transparency of the difficult choices that are routine. Government has become more critical of the NHS and the public less willing to wait for treatment.Why does demand for health care consistently exceed supply and how should Government manage the problem? There is a danger that improved rights for the strong and articulate will ignore less visible, or unpopular interests. How should the rights of elderly patients, or children, or those with terminal illnesses be balanced? Who should decide: the government, doctors, NHS managers, citizens, or the courts? How should decision-makers be held accountable, and by whom? How should governanceregulate the NHS? As patients become 'consumers' of medical care, what choice do they have as to how, where, and when they will be treated; and should this include hospitals abroad?This completely revised new edition puts patients' rights into their political, economic and managerial contexts. It considers the implications of the Bristol Inquiry and the rhetoric of patients as 'consumers' of care. In balancing the rights of individuals with those of the community as a whole, it deals with one of the most pressing problems in contemporary society.

This book is invaluable to anyone who wants to understand the role of law in determining who is entitled to treatment, and of what standard...I recommend this book to policy makers, NHS managers of all levels, health service providers, clinicians and anyone interested in increasing their understanding of the NHS. It is an absorbing snapshot of the NHS responding to its current challenges, and a scholarly account of the relationship between law and health care in the UK., Review from previous edition 'Where the book succeeds is in its treatment of the legal issues...It deals systematically with the place of both common law and statute in decisions as to who will or will not have access to care. The account of this complex body of law is clear and informative.', 'It is an incredibly detailed book, littered with appropriate and useful references.', 'the book is clear, interesting, easy to read and admirably places in context the work of any lawyer in the health field.', 'a comprehensive and very readable book which highlights the varying and complex relationships that arise between law and the provision of our health services...a welcome and necessary introduction to all those who seek to study health care and the management of its resources, yet might have failed to appreciate that law and health are linked far beyond the scope of medical negligence...Any author committed to analysis of the questions of resource allocation in the NHS sets themself a mammmoth task. Newdick's text is readily comprehensible...Newdick catalogues the issues and demonstrates the urgency of the task and the challenge admirably.'

Christopher Newdick is Professor of Health Law at the University of Reading. He is also Honorary Consultant to Berkshire West PCT, and a member of the Berkshire Priorities Committee.