Public Health and Globalisation

The author of this provocative book is a lecturer in law at the University of Manchester. He begins from the premise that the NHS is morally indefensible, a proposition that will seem surprising to the reader at first glance. He argues that if there is a good moral case in favour of a public health service, then, morally, the benefits of such a service should be extended transnationally not merely nationally. On the basis of the duty of rescue, it is argued that our duty to save lives should morally entail sacrifices in the National Health Service in favour of better funding for foreign aid. And if saving lives is a central criterion, then the money spent on palliative care at home would more justifiably be spent abroad where the needs (and the impact of the money) are greater. Whether this view is politically practical is another matter altogether, which the author naturally recognises. He also devotes some space to the difficult issue of prioritising health care between different conditions and age groups. These issues are bound to become more acute in the next 20 years so it is good to subject our assumptions to further logical analysis and analyse their implications.