A new managerial language of modernization has accompanied political restructuring of the National Health Service. Corporate goals of efficiency and audit have been integrated with the ideological manifesto of New Labour in stressing citizenship, inclusion and empowerment. Drawing on the theoretical insights of anthropology and sociology, this article critically reviews the relationship between health policy, organizational culture and nursing practise through an exploration of language in terms of "rhetoric", "jargon" and "metaphor". It is suggested that beyond the bewildering vocabulary of "buzz words" is a fundamental contradiction between the ethic of caring and the expectations of Government. Finally thought is given to the role of professional education and training where intellectual engagement with the ritual categories of "newspeak" is a subversive act.