Kate Womersley

How much does Britain still ‘love’ the NHS?

Three books examining the health service in its 75th year find it at its nadir today – with 500 people dying weekly due to delays in urgent and emergency care

Sylvia Beckingham, aged 13, is visited by Aneurin Bevan in Park Hospital, Davyhulme, Manchester, from where he formally launched the NHS. [Alamy]
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  • Fighting For Life: The Twelve Battles that Made Our NHS, and the Struggle For Its Future

    Isabel Hardman

    Viking Penguin, pp. 384, £20

  • How Britain Loves the NHS: Practices of Care and Contestation

    Ellen Stewart

    Policy Press, pp. 170, £24

  • Critical: Why the NHS is Being Betrayed and How We Can Fight For It

    Julia Patterson

    HarperCollins, pp. 224, £16

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