Part policy exploration, part history, part memoir, and part anthropological study, this is a detailed and deeply worrying take on the state of modern British healthcare – the most loved and trusted part of the British State that has been under constant attack for decades. Why is that? – why would politicians seeking the approval of voters nevertheless fail to support and recognise the one thing that all voters admire? And do so with such fake affectations of care?

The notion of “care” itself, both as a noun and as a verb. comes under scrutiny. It’s a word that’s replaced a rich vocabulary of terms, bring aspects of medical and social services that were all previously regarded as separate under a single rubric. And perhaps that’s the root of the problem. By destroying the subtlety in search of management and measurement, it becomes easier to neglect the essence of what’s being provided and turn social care (and mental health care in particular) into “Cinderella services” adrift from public attention.

3/5. Finished Saturday 5 June, 2021.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)