ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on concepts discussed in this book. The National Health Service came into existence in an atmosphere of conflict generated by the strong ideological commitment of the post-Second World War Labour Government, and the opposition of the Conservative Party as well as some sections of the medical profession. The Service was perceived as the most symbolic of socialist aspirations, a universally available, comprehensive, centrally planned and free at the time of need, medical care service. The main conclusions of the Guillebaud Report were that far from the NHS being over-resourced and wasteful, it was on the contrary under-resourced and efficient given its objectives and unsympathetic economic environment in which it was established. The competing needs of priority groups, such as elderly people and people with mental health problems, and acutely sick people who required technological intervention such as dialysis and transplants, were to become a dilemma in priority setting, which continues to the present day.
