GPs) are private practitioners under contract to the NHS. GPs now get paid a regular income for working 8AM to 6PM Monday through Friday, with no out-of-hours work and earn 80,000 Pounds Sterling. Everyone is covered by the system, regardless of socioeconomic status.
The NHS was established in 1948 with services provided free at the point of care, and everyone was eligible for that care (National, 2005). The system, financed by central taxation, provides hospital services, primary care, mental health services, and community services. The NHS was later reorganized into Regional Health Authorities, but in the 1970s and 1980s it became obvious the NHS would never have the resources necessary to provide unlimited access to the latest medical treatment to everyone, particularly in the ageing population. In 1990, the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 introduced what was known as an "internal market" by which the Health Authorities "purchased" health care from hospitals owned by themselves or other authorities. Certain GPs became "fund holders" and could purchase care for their
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