Main description:

This book is about geographical variation in the organisation, provision and use of health services in Britain. Its main theme is that neither the quantity nor the quality of health care provided by the National Health Service (NHS) is uniform from place to place. Chapters discuss and evaluate:

The reorganisation of the NHS in the years up to 1987

The relationships between the need for health care and the supply of health services

The redistribution of health service resources geographically

The distribution of doctors, dentists, community nurses and hospitals across the UK

Access to health services

The distribution of both private health facilities and social welfare services and their effect on the NHS.

Contents:

1. The Geographical Basis of Organisation 2. Regional Variations in Need and Provision 3. The Location of Primary Care 4. The Location of Hospitals 5. Transport to Health Services 6. Health Care in Rural Areas 7. Health Care in the Inner City 8. Health Services for All.