Unfolding a complex story told in three parts, this chronicle examines Britain's government-funded National Health Service (NHS) and its Independent Sector Treatment Center program, as it was originally intended: as a public service that cut waiting times for elective treatments such as hip and knee replacements. The book then explores how the House of Commons Health Select Committee tried to assess the NHS before, finally revealing what the the program really is: a bridgehead for the private sector to take over NHS services and staff on a steadily-growing scale. Describing how the true aims of the program have been obscured--information about the program has been regularly massaged or withheld from public scrutiny--this study exposes how the NHS is closing services and diverting patient income to for-profit providers on highly advantageous terms.