ABSTRACT
This chapter explores what it means to be health service professionals for today. According to the World Health Organization, the possession of health is a basic human right. Health is one of a number of words which are constantly in use and which are so rich in meaning that they cannot be explained fully without involving controversy. An increase in litigation may reflect a loss of trust in the promises that modernity seemed to be making. A risk society, based on deregulation and devolution, often requires more subtle and systematic forms of control. The analogy of the two-handed saw also applies to the bargain between patients and practitioners. For clinical governance to work effectively, the relationship must be both transparent and co-operative in nature. A culture of professionalism and partnership must be fostered. Without it, patients really do just become objects of the financial machine, viewed either as 'consumers' or as 'sources of income'.
