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The Politics of Health Policy Reform in the UK

England’s Permanent Revolution

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  • © 2016

Overview

Authors:
  1. Calum Paton

    1. Keele University, Keele, United Kingdom

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  • Offers original political analysis of 30 years of NHS policy reforms
  • Presents an evidence-based account of the effects of health policy
  • Analyses the arguments for and against, content of and consequences of, ‘market reform’ of and in the NHS

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Table of contents (11 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvi
    Download chapter PDF

  2. The Politics Behind the Conservative ‘Internal Market’ in the 1990s

    • Calum Paton
    Pages 1-18

  3. The Changing Politics of New Labour: From ‘Reintegration Without Reorganisation’ to Retreading the Market Road

    • Calum Paton
    Pages 19-36

  4. Political Explanation of Labour’s Initiative-itis

    • Calum Paton
    Pages 37-51

  5. England in a UK Context: Diversity of Governance

    • Calum Paton
    Pages 53-64

  6. From New Labour’s End-Game to Coalition Re-invention of the Wheel

    • Calum Paton
    Pages 65-83

  7. From the 2010 White Paper to the 2012 Health and Social Care Act

    • Calum Paton
    Pages 85-99

  8. Summative Political Explanation: NHS ‘Reform’ over 30 Years

    • Calum Paton
    Pages 101-119

  9. Garbage-Can Politics Yet Neo-Liberal Ideology

    • Calum Paton
    Pages 121-155

  10. The Cost of the Market: The Price of Ideology

    • Calum Paton
    Pages 157-175

  11. Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Prescription: Will England Join the UK?

    • Calum Paton
    Pages 177-206

  12. Erratum to: The Politics of Health Policy Reform in the UK: England’s Permanent Revolution

    • Calum Paton
    Pages E1-E1

  13. Back Matter

    Pages 207-212
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Keywords

About this book

This book explains  the politics of thirty years of ‘market reform’ in the English NHS, with the rest of the UK a counter-factual. Paton shows how each subsequent reform has been shaped by the confusion left by the previous reform. The long-term ideology has been anti-statist but policy-making at each stage of ‘reform’ has been driven by short-term politics. The outcome in England has been ever-increasing complexity in the NHS, with significantly increased management costs and no commensurate benefit.

Reviews

“Prose - fresh and sparkling. Argumentation - punchy. Altogether good for one’s health.” (Stephen Cropper, Professor of Management, formerly Director of Research Institute of Public Policy and formerly Head of School of Public Policy and Professional Practice, Keele University, UK)

“This is recommended reading for anyone interested in the flow of UK and English health policy and seeking to understand the impact of reforms from a macro-political standpoint.” (Professor Stephen Peckham, Director of the Health Policy Unit, University of Kent, UK)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Keele University, Keele, United Kingdom

    Calum Paton

About the author

Calum Paton is Emeritus Professor of Public Policy at Keele University, UK. His books include seminal analyses of the Thatcher and Blair reforms to the NHS. He is Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Health Planning and Management. He was Chair of the University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust from 2000 to 2006, and has advised politicians in the UK, governments abroad and agencies such as WHO, World Bank, UNDP, and the EU.  

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