Foreword C. W. Guillebaud; Introduction W. A. B. Hopkin; 1. The background of the study; 2. Expenditure on health: concepts and definitions; 3. Sources and methods; 4. Trends in cost, 1948–54; 5. Capital expenditure on the National Health Service; 6. Conclusions; Appendix A. A classified reconciliation between the cost of the National Health Service to public funds in productive resources and the Appropriation Accounts; Appendix B. The current cost of the National Health Service to public funds in productive resources expressed in constant prices; Appendix C. Trading activities in the hospital service; Appendix D. Part-time and whole-time medical and dental staff in the hospital service; Appendix E. An analysis of the rise in the cost of the pharmaceutical service; Appendix F. The use of capital expenditure to save current expenditure; Appendix G. A comparison of hospital capital expenditure in 1938/9 and 1952/3; Appendix H. The hospital population; Appendix I. Population change and the future cost of the National Health Service; Summary; Index.