• Preface; Introduction -- Medicine in Prehistoric Times and in the Ancient World; Medicine in the Middle Ages; Medicine in the Early Modern Period; Modern medicine and the build up to the UK National Health Service; The Welfare State; Reorganisation and industrial action in the 1970s; Fundamental Changes in the NHS; How does the NHS compare with the Health Services in other Countries?; Successes in the present day NHS but also ethical dilemmas in a rationed health service; The Medical profession and the NHS: what went wrong?; Medical Error and Negligence, The Witch-hunt and Suspension; Why do some doctors find it so hard to work in the present political climate?; Dentistry and Nursing; Political whim and fancy; What has gone wrong with the patients?; State Medicine: The Future; Index.

"It is to Professor Goddards credit that he does not trade on his international reputation as a radiologist, or a pioneer of Magnetic Resonance Imaging. In fact., his specialty is barely alluded to, Instead he is everymans Virgil, guiding the reader through a medical timeline." -- B Kelly, Consultant Radiologist, The Royal Hospitals, Belfast.