The Emergence of New Values among British Patients
L’émergence de nouvelles valeurs chez les patients britanniques
Résumé
Better informed than in the past, British patients are increasingly likely to question medical practices and to make formal complaints against the NHS. This article investigates to what extent the phenomenon is new and what are its causes. Our analysis shows that the growing discontent of British patients is linked in part to a new form of individualism, encouraged by the health care policies of the Conservative and Labour governments since the 1980s, to better public information on health and to frequent media stories on medical errors. Complaints, however, are linked to the negative health care experience of many patients, as exemplified by long waiting lists for operations. Despite a number of policies set up by New Labour since 1997 to improve the quality and transparency of the service, British patients have not yet turned into «consumers», if only because of their continuing lack of health care choice.