This book draws on research within a neo-Weberian and neo-institutionalist perspective to critically analyse national health services in Western Europe. Exploring the challenges posed by neo-liberal policies, it also looks at the impact of the role of the state, the medical profession, the public, and the medical industrial complex in their development. This book makes a vital contribution at a time when health services globally have been under great pressure in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic It is written for academics and advanced students of healthcare, management, public policy, social policy and sociology – in addition to health professionals and policy maker.