Dr I know that I have recommended this book before, but I make no apology for doing so again.  Working Class Patients and the Medical Establishment: Self-Help in Britain from the Mid-Nineteenth Century to 1948 written by Dr David Green of Civitas, is one of the most influential books that I have read on the provision of healthcare before the establishment of the NHS.

Given the changes that are coming our way with the NHS reforms proposed by Andrew Lansley, many opinion formers and indeed Union Officials could do with brushing up on some history!