Health care systems everywhere face multiple pressures from changing demography, the rise of non-communicable disease, the growing demand on health services, and limited resources at a time of austerity.

Focusing on the British NHS from a political science perspective, this second edition of this best-selling book offers a fresh look at how it is coping with such pressures. The book explores the complexity of health policy and health services, offering a critical perspective on concerns including integrated care, the return of public health to local government and moves to devolve health services to local level. Crucially, it offers a critique of the market-style changes introduced by the Coalition government between 2010 and 2015.

Students of health care and health policy, policy-makers and public health and health care professionals will find this lively and accessible reassessment of NHS reforms invaluable.