In the Eye of the Storm
Civil Servants and Managers in the UK Department of Health
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11197847 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Holly Jarman (0000-0002-7330-3075, University at Albany, State University of New York, corresponding author), Scott L Greer (0000-0002-5288-0471, University at Albany, State University of New York) |
| Year | 2010 |
| Volume | 44 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 172-192 |
| Publication date | 2010-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Policy and Administration (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0144-5596 • E-ISSN: 1467-9515 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1467-9515.2009.00707.x |
| OpenAlex | W2126938123 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 13 |
In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the UK government faces some tough choices over public expenditure, and these choices will have important implications for both the future of health policy and the way in which health services are managed. In this article, we examine the organization and leadership of the UK Department of Health and weigh its suitability to meet such challenges. We find an organization that is culturally split between public servants and managers, highly reliant on the ability of its key personnel to bridge these divides, and extremely responsive to the political goals of government ministers. We explore the modern DH using three types of evidence. First, the history of the department shows clear political efforts to reduce civil service discretion and focus the DH on the management of the English NHS. Second, the recent organizational structures of the DH show a bifurcation between policy direction and NHS management tasks. Third, an analysis of the top ranks of the department since 2005 shows the implementation of political preferences that are consistent with managerialism but inconsistent with the perceived characteristics of traditional civil servants. The result is a department which has changed just as frequently as the health service it oversees – a department which has been moulded by successive ministers into one for the management of the NHS. Our findings raise important questions about the value and purpose of long-term organizational knowledge in policy formulation
Civil servants · Discretion · Government (linguistics · Health department · Managerialism · Organizational culture · Political science · Politics · Public health · Public relations · Public service · Healthcare innovation and challenges · Healthcare Quality and Management · Law · Medicine · Nursing · Public Administration · Public Policy and Administration Research
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,25 |
| Citation span | 2010 - 2024 (15) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |