Health And Health Care In Britain

This new edition of Baggott's engaging and clearly written text provides students with an up-to-date and concise introduction to all aspects of health care in Britain today. It has been extensively rewritten to take account of the many recent changes and developments in the NHS and in health policy. Including clear explanations of concepts like clinical governance and evidence-based health care, it also covers political changes such as the health policies of the Blair administration and the increasing diversity of the NHS as a result of devolution.

′This is an excellent textbook for which there is currently a niche in the market. The chapters on rationing, professionalism, politics of clinical knowledge and the politics of democracy and participation are particularly strong and will be invaluable to students of health policy, health studies and health service research′ - Professor Michael Calnan, University of Bristol Written by leading academics in their field, this book provides a clear and considered overview of the politics of health care in Britain. Bringing together a wide range of material on both past events and recent developments, the chapters cover issues such as the politics of health professionalism, clinical knowledge and organisation and management. Each chapter offers a a unique combination of theory, historical detail and analysis of contemporary events. It features case studies to illustrate how policy has evolved and developed in recent years, and the implications these changes have for practice. Written in an accessible style the chapters also include comprehensive introductions, summaries and further reading sections. The final chapter is based on three detailed case studies that illuminate the tensions and debates discussed throughout the book. The Politics of Healthcare in Britain is a timely and authoritative textbook that covers a key topic of the curriculum whilst also contributing to topical debates. The book will be essential reading for students of social policy, health policy, public policy and nursing. It will also be of interest to policy makers and practitioners in the field of health care.

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.

'Christopher Ham's book provides an historical and theoretical introduction to the making, implementation and evaluation of health policy in Britain. It has been completely revised throughout for this third edition with new chapters added on the current health service reforms and key issues for the future of health policy setting the British situation in an international context. 'It is hard to find a better basic textbook about health policy in Britain for students with little existing knowledge. However, it can also be highly recommended for readers who work in the NHS, but want to make more sense of the often confusing web of policies and imperatives. This book manages to synthesise a mass of material in a readable form, and enlightens as well as informs.' Public Health.

The United Kingdom’s health systems have long made the quality of care a high priority, pioneering many tools and policies in this area. Yet despite being a global leader in monitoring and improvement, the United Kingdom does not consistently perform well on international quality benchmarks. Why?

No two markets for voluntary health insurance (VHI) are identical. All differ in some way because they are heavily shaped by the nature and performance of publicly financed health systems and by the contexts in which they have evolved. This volume contains short structured profiles of markets for VHI in 34 countries in Europe. These are drawn from European Union member states plus Armenia Iceland Georgia Norway the Russian Federation Switzerland and Ukraine. The book is aimed at policy-makers and researchers interested in knowing more about how VHI works in practice in a wide range of contexts. Each profile written by one or more local experts identifies gaps in publicly-financed health coverage describes the role VHI plays outlines the way in which the market for VHI operates summarises public policy towards VHI including major developments over time and highlights national debates and challenges. The book is part of a study on VHI in Europe prepared jointly by the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies and the WHO Regional Office for Europe. A companion volume provides an analytical overview of VHI markets across the 34 countries.

Winner of the first prize in the Health and Social Care category at the BMA Medical Book Awards 2016. With chapters on 25 different countries, this practical and succinct guide to the world's major health systems explores what lessons can be drawn from each to improve health worldwide. Each chapter is an essay designed to give the reader essential knowledge of the history, strengths, weaknesses and lessons of each health system and provide a truly global health perspective – all in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee. Whether a healthcare manager or a student studying health systems, this accessible and engaging book provides a fascinating insight in to how health care is delivered around the world.

What are public health services? Countries across Europe understand what they are or what they should include differently. This study describes the experiences of nine countries detailing the ways they have opted to organize and finance public health services and train and employ their public health workforce. It covers England France Germany Italy the Netherlands Slovenia Sweden Poland and the Republic of Moldova and aims to give insights into current practice that will support decision-makers in their efforts to strengthen public health capacities and services. Each country chapter captures the historical background of public health services and the context in which they operate; sets out the main organizational structures; assesses the sources of public health financing and how it is allocated; explains the training and employment of the public health workforce; and analyses existing frameworks for quality and performance assessment. The study reveals a wide range of experience and variation across Europe and clearly illustrates two fundamentally different approaches to public health services: integration with curative health services (as in Slovenia or Sweden) or organization and provision through a separate parallel structure (Republic of Moldova). The case studies explore the context that explain this divergence and its implications. This study is the result of close collaboration between the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies and the WHO Regional Office for Europe Division of Health Systems and Public Health. It accompanies two other Observatory publications Organization and financing of public health services in Europe and The role of public health organizations in addressing public health problems in Europe: the case of obesity alcohol and antimicrobial resistance (both forthcoming).