ABSTRACT
During the nineteenth century capitalism, industrialisation and movement of population were potent forces of social change in Britain. These social changes produced a substantial range of public health problems: infectious diseases, such as cholera and tuberculosis, and deficiency diseases such as scurvy and rickets, variously became sources of public concern. The creation of the National Health Service was very popular; inspired partly by a belief that equity of health care provision would be more likely in the state run health service. Registers of the voluntary sector identify numerous bodies which give support to people affected by even the most obscure diseases. The survival of the health voluntary organisations in a hostile environment during the twentieth century is remarkable. The Scottish Executive supports volunteering in the National Health Service but there is no explicit guidance on the amount of grant funding to be provided or the priorities care areas for spending on voluntary organisations.
