Exploring 30 years of UK public services management reform – the case of health care

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to offer a personal interpretation of the nature and impact of alternative narratives of public management reform evident in the UK since the 1980s. These reforms are examined through the prism of alternative bodies of public management scholarship. They are applied to the specific case of the health care sector as a concrete focus.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is a personal overview of various streams of policy reforms in the UK health care sector and associated public management scholarship. This is an interpretive essay.

Findings

The new of public management remains the dominant reform, narrative and highly embedded, even if dysfunctionally so. Network governance reforms have had some enduring influence. Digital era governance has so far had only weak influence. A reprofessionlisation counter narrative shows variable and oscillating influence.

Originality/value

The study contributes to a developing narrative-based stream in public management scholarship. It also provides a “big picture” assessment of reforming in the UK health care sector since the 1980s.

Citation

Ferlie, E. (2017), "Exploring 30 years of UK public services management reform – the case of health care", International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 30 No. 6-7, pp. 615-625. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-06-2017-0178