At a time when the National Health Service (NHS) is undergoing critical scrutiny following numerous revelations of poor care and mismanagement, this book tells the story of an independent hospital, which working in partnership with the NHS yet remaining outside the state system, provides a very high quality of care for patients which is free at the point of delivery. The story of the Horder Centre falls conveniently into two parts. Part one describes the time from its founding until the death of its founder, Cecilia Bochenek, in 1981. Part two describes the establishment of the surgical unit there and the development of a modern joint replacement service. To maintain the status quo is no longer tenable. A radical change is needed in the NHS and if the independent sector or the private sector can assist in that endeavour, their contribution should be welcomed not resisted