Competition and integration: The NHS future forum's confused consensus

摘要

Since devolution in the UK after 1998, the English NHS - unlike the rest of the UK -has trodden the market route, building on the original Thatcher government reforms,1 with the short exception of 1997 to 1999. This has coincided with a trend in policy making which has prioritised hyperbole over well-rounded policies that can be implemented effectively. This "implementation deficit' has been acknowledged by some of the key policy advisers of the time, and the negative consequences of policy making on the hoof are widely recognised.