Governing The New Nhs

Sweeping changes have made NHS governance a crucial and contested issue. This invaluable text makes sense of the new systems, describing and assessing the new governance arrangements and accountabilities. It examines how they are working in practice, reporting on how practitioners are responding to the difficulties and paradoxes that arise.

The new NHS is a very different organisation to the one set up 60 years ago. Two decades of reforms have introduced a market element, unprecedented transparency, patient choice, new incentives, devolved accountabilities and a host of new regulatory bodies. All these changes have made governance a crucial and contested issue in health care. Governing the New NHS makes sense of the new systems and will enable anyone interested in healthcare governance to navigate their way confidently through the maze. It describes, assesses and critiques the new governance arrangements. It examines how they are working in practice and how practitioners are responding. The book: explains current governance arrangements and explores related issues and tensions discusses the roles and interrelationships of boards and effective board practice offers a range of practical tools and frameworks. Each chapter is supplemented with expert witness statement written by leading practitioners in the health system. This practical book will be invaluable to all those interested in health governance, policy and management - whether academic, student or practitioner.

The follow-up to Clinical Governance - Making it Happen considers the implications of clinical governance for a wide range of health care professionals including nurses, medical directors and chief executives. The contributors examine the role of the new government organisation NICE, the responsibilities of those working for NHS organisations and the benefits of patient involvement. Advancing Clinical Governance will enable health professionals to implement clinical governance effectively and with confidence.

Equity and Excellence : Liberating the NHS: Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Health by Command of Her Majesty

The introduction of clinical governance has already had a major impact on health care in the UK. Its implementation is crucial in enabling the quality of health care to become the driving force for the development of health services. Clinical governance is the responsibility of managers and clinicians working at all levels within trusts. Therefore it is vital to have access to clearly written, reliable information on clinical governance and be equipped to deliver these complex and challenging roles in a fast-moving environment. This book is the long awaited follow-up to Advancing Clinical Governance Advancing Clinical Governance in which clinical governance experts Myriam Lugon and Jonathan Secker-Walker have pulled together chapters on key topics for the present and future development of the health service. Amongst the 16 topics covered are the provision of medical staff in the future, the future role of nurses in clinical care, clinical information, resolution of professional disputes and infection control. The book also includes a valuable guide to up-to-date information sources on clinical governance. This book is recommended to clinicians and managers at all levels within trusts, health care purchasers and academics.

This timely book is the most comprehensive account yet of recent commissioning practice in the English NHS and its impact on health services and the healthcare system. Drawing on eight years of research, expert researchers in the field analyse crucial aspects of commissioning, including competition and cooperation, the development of Clinical Commissioning Groups and contractual mechanisms. They also consider the influence of recent commissioning reforms on public health infrastructure. For academics and policy makers in health services research and policy, this is a valuable collection of evidence that deepens understanding of how commissioning works.

This review incorporates the views and visions of 2,000 clinicians and other health and social care professionals from every NHS region in England, and has been developed in discussion with patients, carers and the general public. The changes proposed are locally-led, patient-centred and clinically driven. Chapter 2 identifies the challenges facing the NHS in the 21st century: ever higher expectations; demand driven by demographics as people live longer; health in an age of information and connectivity; the changing nature of disease; advances in treatment; a changing health workplace. Chapter 3 outlines the proposals to deliver high quality care for patients and the public, with an emphasis on helping people to stay healthy, empowering patients, providing the most effective treatments, and keeping patients as safe as possible in healthcare environments. The importance of quality in all aspects of the NHS is reinforced in chapter 4, and must be understood from the perspective of the patient's safety, experience in care received and the effectiveness of that care. Best practice will be widely promoted, with a central role for the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in expanding national standards. This will bring clarity to the high standards expected and quality performance will be measured and published. The review outlines the need to put frontline staff in control of this drive for quality (chapter 5), with greater freedom to use their expertise and skill and decision-making to find innovative ways to improve care for patients. Clinical and managerial leadership skills at the local level need further development, and all levels of staff will receive support through education and training (chapter 6). The review recommends the introduction of an NHS Constitution (chapter 7). The final chapter sets out the means of implementation.