When Ivan Illich published Medical Nemesis in 1975, he offered a withering critique of the medical profession and the medical model. 'The medical establishment has become a major threat to health,' he said. Nearly half a century has elapsed since then, and things have got worse. In the UK, only 5 per cent of the health budget is spent on prevention. The system is so strained that the rule is often 'one problem per consultation'. Disease management takes precedence over disease prevention, and a wider perspective on health and wellbeing is largely absent. At least once a month, one third of...