ABSTRACT
Therapists frequently complain that “bureaucratic” NHS management restricts the independence which they feel that they need to give the best service to an individual client, and to a population: that it defeats its own purpose of using their skills to the best effect. But is this “special pleading” different from the arguments presented by any workers for greater control and autonomy? Some NHS managers say that if it was not for the NHS there would be no therapy services in the area, and that, if left to their own devices, therapists would pursue their own special interests regardless of priority needs.
