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The National Illness Service

2003 
A few months ago, I had a conversation with a hospital chief executive who was complaining about the unrealistic expectations that many patients have nowadays. He told me that he wished we could change the name of the National Health Service to the National ‘Keeping‐Death‐at‐Bay’ Service. He thought that this would help patients to shed their illusions of omnipotence and immortality. It would also indicate that, in reality, hospitals by themselves have little to do with the production of health. This struck me as an interesting if somewhat provocative idea. However, I didn't give it much thought until the following month, when I happened to be doing some consultancy work for a mental health team in the south of England. During the course of this, the team leader said how much he disliked being part of something called a ‘mental health team’. He thought this name was quite dishonest and really they ought to be called the ‘Coping‐With‐Disappointment’ team. After all, …
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