Based on the deliberations of a Leeds Castle Foundation medical conference, this book looks in depth at five examples of how the NHS by choice or by accident has behaved with inhumanity, and seeks to draw lessons for the whole health system from these events. It reaches radical conclusions about the future of health care. Firstly, it shows that the people who use health services should have much more control over how they are treated; secondly, it illustrates the importance of team working in health and social care. Its third point is that the conflicts between the needs of individuals and communities have yet to be resolved, and finally, it shows that, despite the technology which characterises modern medicine, humanity is still the cornerstone of health care.