This book provides a history of general practice under the National Health Service, from 1948 to the present. Between them, the chapters cover all the main aspects of general practice, including changing concepts of illness and clinical practices, politics and organization, medical education, public relations, and international comparisons. These chapters examine how the relative stagnation of the early years, when morale and funding were low, gave way to a renaissance in general practice in the 1960s which changed the service out of all recognition. This book shows how the oldest branch of me ... More

This book provides a history of general practice under the National Health Service, from 1948 to the present. Between them, the chapters cover all the main aspects of general practice, including changing concepts of illness and clinical practices, politics and organization, medical education, public relations, and international comparisons. These chapters examine how the relative stagnation of the early years, when morale and funding were low, gave way to a renaissance in general practice in the 1960s which changed the service out of all recognition. This book shows how the oldest branch of medicine gradually rediscovered its role alongside the rapid advances of specialized medicine.