ABSTRACT
Trying to describe the current NHS is not a leisurely activity to be undertaken on a Sunday afternoon. This is no quiet country meadow, where one can set up easel, mix paints and depict a harmonious, tranquil setting. People working in the NHS feel their situation to be much more akin to white water rafting the Colorado river. Any thought of describing a particular bend in the river, with its treacherous swirls and eddies, is lost in the need to try to spot the shoals under the water ahead and keep the raft from hitting the side walls of the canyon.
