TY - JOUR AB - The use of the term customer is new in the Health Service. Its use should be made clear and not be used interchangeably with consumer. Organisations have customerā€supplier chains. Focusing on these chains can assess the effectiveness of services to the customer. All organisational processes influence service to the external customer. A successful organisation must satisfy external customer needs. Wants, needs and expectations need clarifying. Patientsā€² needs are often rationed by the professionals. Because of the complexity of National Health Service (NHS) business and the relative lack of choice of external customers, the responsibility of NHS staff to meet their needs and expectations is greater than in the private sector. VL - 4 IS - 3 SN - 0952-6862 DO - 10.1108/09526869110139884 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/09526869110139884 AU - Sage Geoffrey C. PY - 1991 Y1 - 1991/01/01 TI - Customers and the NHS T2 - International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance PB - MCB UP Ltd Y2 - 2024/04/25 ER -