Dear all,

I would be interested to know what our US colleagues (and UK ones too) made of the Olympic opening ceremony’s reference to the NHS. Would any other country refer to its health system in such a way? Is this a sign of UK self-confidence or a defence against reforms of an apparently much-loved social institution?

Thanks to Roy Lilley (www.nhsmanagers.net), here are some links to comment on the NHS aspect of the ceremony:

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/329524

http://lubbockonline.com/interact/blog-post/may/2012-07-29/showcasing-socialized-health-care-london-olympics

and also:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19029510

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jul/29/opening-cermony-trojan-horse-socialism

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2180863/London-2012-Olympics-Labour-Party-delighted-Games-socialist-opening-ceremony.html

Regards

Mark

Prof. Mark Exworthy

Professor of Health Policy and Management

School of Management, Royal Holloway-University of London

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