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A review by samdalefox
Critical: Why the NHS Is Being Betrayed and How We Can Fight for It by Dr Julia Grace Patterson
informative
medium-paced
3.0
This is a good book to give to older people and people who do not know much about the NHS or politics. I've bumped the score up to 3 to represent the value 'Critical' brings to these demographics. I think this is a good entry level book for people who are angry about the poor service they're receiving from the NHS, but their only source of information is the Daily Mail.
However, for me, this book was incredibly diappointing and underwhelming. On the second page of the book, Patterson states "This is not a history book about the NHS. It is also not a policy book, explaining the intricacies of every NHS reform. It's a book explaining where we are, how it has happened, and what needs to happen next". This issue is, in order to effectively explain those things, you need to include the relevant history and policy changes that brought us to where we are now and informs what needs to change. Patterson fails to do this convincingly. This needed to be a history and policy book.
Instead, what we have instead is a monstrously repetitive self-centered text which is abysmally sourced. Most references are to newspaper articles, and are just given as urls, no date accessed. And more importantly there are incredibly few primary sources cited such as legislation, policies, charity reports, or other relevant books such as 'The Care Crisis' by Emma Dowling. This is unacceptable from someone with a higher degree in STEM and her work subsequently stands as a flimsy bulwark against the vitriol and slogans of those seeking to privatise the NHS. If Patterson wanted to provide a credible, robust, convincing book, she merely had to follow the example set by Dowling.
Although certain landmark changes are mentioned (internal market place, PFI loans, private contracts, changes to nursing bursaires, changes to doctors' contracts, changes to consultants' pensions, integrated care boards (ICBs) The Health and Care Act 2022 etc.) none of these things are explicitly defined or sufficiently explained. The reader knows that they are 'bad' but could not tell you why they are bad from reading this book.
There was no general timeline of policy changes, no in depth explanation of what privatisation is or how it functions, generally no explanation of HOW things work, no detailed explanation and analysis, just broad conclusionary statements. The 'Solution' chapter was short and unimaginative. The whole book read like a call to action 'we've had enough!' but the depth of understanding was superficial.
However, for me, this book was incredibly diappointing and underwhelming. On the second page of the book, Patterson states "This is not a history book about the NHS. It is also not a policy book, explaining the intricacies of every NHS reform. It's a book explaining where we are, how it has happened, and what needs to happen next". This issue is, in order to effectively explain those things, you need to include the relevant history and policy changes that brought us to where we are now and informs what needs to change. Patterson fails to do this convincingly. This needed to be a history and policy book.
Instead, what we have instead is a monstrously repetitive self-centered text which is abysmally sourced. Most references are to newspaper articles, and are just given as urls, no date accessed. And more importantly there are incredibly few primary sources cited such as legislation, policies, charity reports, or other relevant books such as 'The Care Crisis' by Emma Dowling. This is unacceptable from someone with a higher degree in STEM and her work subsequently stands as a flimsy bulwark against the vitriol and slogans of those seeking to privatise the NHS. If Patterson wanted to provide a credible, robust, convincing book, she merely had to follow the example set by Dowling.
Although certain landmark changes are mentioned (internal market place, PFI loans, private contracts, changes to nursing bursaires, changes to doctors' contracts, changes to consultants' pensions, integrated care boards (ICBs) The Health and Care Act 2022 etc.) none of these things are explicitly defined or sufficiently explained. The reader knows that they are 'bad' but could not tell you why they are bad from reading this book.
There was no general timeline of policy changes, no in depth explanation of what privatisation is or how it functions, generally no explanation of HOW things work, no detailed explanation and analysis, just broad conclusionary statements. The 'Solution' chapter was short and unimaginative. The whole book read like a call to action 'we've had enough!' but the depth of understanding was superficial.