MEMBERSHIP OF THE ‘NEW STYLE’ HEALTH AUTHORITIES: CONTINUITY OR CHANGE?

The 1989 White Paper 'Working for Patients' continued the process begun by Griffiths of managerial reform and the introduction of private sector concepts into the NHS. One of the new proposals was to change the composition and constitution of health authorities, both to avoid the assumed weaknesses of the existing format and to emulate the pattern found in the private sector.
The essence of the change was the removal of the representational elements on authorities, both of medical professionals and nominees from the local authority. The health authorities were reduced in size to just eleven members and for the first time executives were included. Previous attempts at reform within the NHS have been judged to have resulted in more continuity than change. This article examines in detail who the new members are and assesses the balance between continuity and change.
Despite a high level of continuity of membership, there are signs of more fundamental change. There is a significant increase in the proportion of non-executive members from the private sector and with the inclusion of executives, a stronger managerial role is emerging. The article concludes by assessing what the implications of these changes maybe.     

Communities of scholars and communities of practice

This article is a contribution to the occasional series dealing with a major book that has influenced the author. Previous contributors include Stewart Macaulay, John Griffith, William Twining, Carol Harlow, Geoffrey Bindman, Harry Arthurs, André‐Jean Arnaud, Alan Hunt, Michael Adler, Lawrence O. Gostin, John P. Heinz, Roger Brownsword, Roger Cotterrell, Nicola Lacey, Carol J. Greenhouse, David Garland, Peter Fitzpatrick, and David Nelken.     

The World’s Dilemma

The international community should think about how to deal with the DPRK In early August,a photo of former U .S.President Bill Clintons haking the hand of the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea(DPRK),Kim Jong     

A Historic Visit

British Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Ivan Lewis' shuttle diplomacy is helping the West to better understand Tibet The first-ever visit by a British min- ister to the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) this September raised little comment in the UK. Neither The Guardian, nor the BBC, both of which have extensive coverage of issues in China, mentioned the     

Anarchy in the UK

<正>Turmoil raises questions about the credibility of politicians and the police The unrest occurring in the UK in early August was unexpected. They were the first serious urban disturbances in the UK