Social workers and national health care: are there lessons from Great Britain?

Abstract

This article reviews the experience of British social workers with the National Health Service (NHS) to inform American social workers as they advocate for changes in the U.S. health care system. The study focuses on the creation of the NHS in 1948, the development of local social services departments in 1968, and the full implementation of community care in 1993. Of particular interest are the British view of health care as a social service, the close relationship between the NHS and local social services, the relationship between social workers and physicians, and the impact of care management on social work. Although the current American political environment is not receptive to a social orientation to health care, a bold policy position grounded in a social context will provide a vision for the future.