Understanding the NHS

Understanding the NHS written by Andrew Stein and published by

White Owl Books - £14.99 - Softcover - Pages 240

The NHS is more than a good idea. It is beautiful. And it is you. The importance of the

NHS – and the public’s affection for it – cannot be overstated, as seen through the

COVID-19 pandemic. The author and his family of medics have lived and breathed the

NHS, from before 1948, its birth and its history to date.

But this book is for people who do not come from this medical background and do not have this life experience. Thus there are three target audiences. Firstly, it can contribute to A level study of the NHS, and career advice for 6th form students who are applying to university for a degree in healthcare. Secondly, it will educate health and social care professionals in training and in their early years. So they can start with the knowledge that the author had when he went to university in 1979. Thirdly, the book is for everyone else, who want to know how it all fits together, and in this way, improve their healthcare, and that of their family.

Right from the start, I have to say that the NHS is a staggeringly huge machine, the way it runs and keeps going, and advancing over the years to help the public, it is just phenomenal example of how a huge medical service should be run. Yes you can always try and improve some things and it will always need lots of money but in my opinion, the NHS is genius.

This book explains about how from the very beginning of the NHS how it's structured, the disciplines involved and how they have been adapted. The buildings, the staffing, the structure and the modernisation over the years, the way it has been funded, and how it needs to roll forward with each year etc. It’s a fascinating book and you can understand something this size has been left to numerous governments who have then tried to force their ideas up on it. All I can say is that the NHS is one of the most prominent things in life in this country and even the rest of the world admires what it does. So from someone who has had a stroke and problems with my right knee, I love the NHS and I loved reading this book, I would think those wanting to move into the care/nursing profession would get a lot out of this as I did.