National Health Service in Scotland

Morrice McCrae, official historian of the Royal College of Physicians, demonstrates that the plan for Scotland, as originally conceived, was accepted in full and by consensus. In setting up the NHS for England and Wales, important concessions were made to overcome the resistance of powerful interest groups and an English medical profession less committed to public service. As a result, two distinct forms of the National Health Service were established in the UK, each with its own character and ethos.