title: Health systems. The ghost of a boast.
abstract: The NHS was introduced to enormous popular acclaim but services always varied markedly and the physical conditions were poor. At the birth of the NHS, two-thirds of the hospitals had been built before 1891. Even today, the NHS is providing care in accommodation built in the 1800s. The NHS is now lagging behind comparable systems on several counts. It is unrealistic to expect the NHS to become the 'envy of the world' in the lifetime of this government, if ever.
authors.affiliation: Manchester Centre for Healthcare Management, Manchester University, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Higgins
mesh_terms: D005102:Health Expenditures; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006302:Health Services Research; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D013222:State Medicine / Q000266:history / Q000592:standards*; D006113:United Kingdom