The essential NHS

Clinical nurse specialists: essential resource for an effective NHS.

Despite emerging evidence for the clinical and financial efficacy of the clinical nurse specialist (CNS), the provision of this role is patchy across the country. There is also a risk that incumbent CNS' may be redirected to less specialist work in trusts that do not appreciate the full value of the service that these nurses provide. Optimal and equitable patient access to CNS care will require...

Morality and Markets in the NHS

Since its establishment in 1948, the history of the National Health Service (NHS) has been characterized by organisational turbulence and system reform. At the same time, progress in science, medicine and technology throughout the western world have revolutionized the delivery of healthcare. The NHS has become a much loved, if much critiqued, national treasure. It is against this backdrop that ...

What do NHS staff think about the NHS?

Reforming the NHS from within CIMA NHS Working Group

A fundamental shift in performance often needs a radical change in the way an organisation is managed.Today’s NHS faces significant challenges, not least the need to maximise the use of the available resources and to demonstrate sound financial management. Recent developments such as payment by results and the introduction of a national tariff have only added to the pressure.To exacerbate this,...

NHS Values, Compassion and Quality Indicators for Relationship Based Person-Centred Healthcare; Comment on “Morality and Markets in the NHS”

The paper by Gilbert et al. should be on the table of every politician and National Health Service (NHS) manager in the run up to the general election, when the NHS is at the hustings. They have raised profound moral dilemmas of the internal and external market in their present form, such as the practicalities of distributive justice and the enhancement of autonomy – to which are added the pres...