ABSTRACT
It is in the nature of publications like this that any attempt to look at policy necessarily becomes dated very quickly. Thus, this chapter looks at developments leading up to the current situation and draws some conclusions from the themes that have developed across the English-speaking world. Within the UK, the devolution of healthcare to the different administrations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland has led, for example, to broadly similar services but with some differences in speed of implementation and emphasis. Across England, the commissioning arrangements through local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) mean that there are variations in local provision whereas inpatient services are separately commissioned by NHS England and have been subject to a separate review.
