Fighting for Life

A gripping, provocative exploration of the National Health Service, told through the most critical moments in its historyEndless A&E waiting times. Nurses' strikes. Delayed operations. In its 75th year, the National Health Service is arguably facing its most challenging battles yet. Since its foundation in 1948, it has been a cornerstone of British life, making history again and again - from the first test tube baby, to the Coronavirus crisis. But the NHS has also become a battleground for some of the fiercest political contests of our time, variously perceived as a national treasure that needs to be preserved at all costs, and as a lumbering piece of state machinery in need of renovation.In Fighting for Life, award-winning journalist Isabel Hardman tells the gripping story of a beloved institution through the people who keep it alive - its nurses, its doctors, its patients and the politicians who decide its fate. With her trademark acuity she tells a story that is by turns uplifting and inspiring, and shocking and alarming. Cutting through sentimentality and sloganeering on all sides of the political spectrum, she shows us how our NHS really works, and what it means for our future.