Ministers must redefine scope of NHS, urges think tank

The UK government must redraw the boundaries of the NHS if the service is to avoid being engulfed by demand for “lifestyle drugs,” such as those designed to remedy impotence, obesity, and baldness, a report from a leading think tank has concluded.

Although the public strongly supports the continuation of a comprehensive service, free at the point of use, NHS users recognise that not all effective and cost effective treatments are relevant to a universal publicly funded system of health care, it says.

The report, written for …