Synopses & Reviews
Understanding Health Policy explores the processes and institutions that create health policies in the United Kingdom. Rob Baggott asks what health policies should do, examining where decision-making power lies and what changes could be made to improve the process overall. He considers the impact of decentralization in the United Kingdom and the role of European and international institutions in policy creation and adoption. Fully updated, this second edition features new case studies to illustrate how policy has evolved and developed in recent years under New Labour and coalition governments. Although designed with the needs of students and tutors in mind, this accessible textbook will also appeal to policy makers and health practitioners.
Review
Reviews of previous editions:
"Chris Ham is unrivalled in his ability to distil and synthesise complex policy developments and present them in a clear and digestible manner for non-specialists... Everyone with an interest in health policy should possess a copy of this book." -- Ray Robinson, Health Service Journal
"It can be safely and warmly recommended as certainly the most up-to-date -- and probably also the best -- text available for anyone interested in Britain's NHS, and seeking a guide through the maze." -- Rudolf Klein, British Book News
"Christopher Ham's book... is clearly written with little jargon and is admirably brief without being superficial." -- J.A. Muir Gray, British Medical Journal
"It is hard to find a better 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 maze of material in a readable form and enlightens as well as informs." -- Public Health
Synopsis
Systematically updated throughout, the sixth edition of this leading text takes the story of health policy to the end of the Blair era and into the early years of the Brown premiership. It offers a clear and thorough introduction to the history of the NHS, its funding and priorities, and to the process of policy making.
Synopsis
Systematically updated throughout, the 6th edition of this leading text takes the story of health policy to the end of the Blair era and into the early years of the Brown premiership. It offers a clear and thorough introduction to the history of the NHS, its funding and priorities, and to the process of policy making.
Synopsis
National Health Service reform continues to be a contentious issue in the UK. Reforming Healthcare offers the first major critical overview of health care reform research in England. Analyzing research from 1990 on, a team of leading UK health-policy academics consider the implications of this research for current debates about health care reorganization both in England and internationally. As the most up-to-date summary of what research reveals as successful in English health care reform, this essential review is aimed at anyone interested in the wide-ranging debates about health reorganization.
About the Author
Ian Greener is professor of applied social sciences at Durham University.Barbara Harrington is a senior research associate at the Centre for Public Policy at Northumbria University.David Hunter is director and professor of Health Policy and Management at Durham University. Russell Mannion holds the chair in Health Systems at the University of Birmingham.Martin Powell is professor of health and social policy at the University of Birmingham.
Table of Contents
The Development of Health Services and Health Policy * Health Policy under Thatcher and Major *
Health Policy under Blair and Brown * Financing Health Services and the Rediscovery of Public Health * Policy and Priorities in the NHS * Policy-making in Westminster and Whitehall * Policy-making in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland * Policy-making in the Department of Health * Implementing Health Policy * Auditing and evaluating health policy and the NHS * Power in Health Services *
Looking back and looking ahead * Conclusion