ABSTRACT
The NHS is in transition. Its publicly-funded system of publicly-owned and provided health care is being replaced by a healthcare market, in which public providers of services compete with private ones for NHS funds, with legal contracts and external regulation replacing direct political accountability. The pace of the transition is rapid, and the change is more far-reaching than is generally realised. The old structures and organisations are being dismantled and a plethora of new organisations and agencies is evolving.
