StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

What are the most important factors that influence the National Health Service in Modern Britain - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
So it is that the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair had to contend sometimes back that it is among the greatest achievements the…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER98.2% of users find it useful
What are the most important factors that influence the National Health Service in Modern Britain
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "What are the most important factors that influence the National Health Service in Modern Britain"

Factors Influencing the National Health Service in Modern Britain Details: al Affiliation: Submission:Factors Influencing the National Health Service in Modern BritainThere is no doubt that the National Health Service (NHS) has been one of the most cherished institutions in modern Britain (Hewitt, 2005). So it is that the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair had to contend sometimes back that it is among the greatest achievements the country has had this far (DoH, 2004a). Indeed, the huge political controversy that regularly surrounds NHS during elections underscores its great importance to the electorate (Appleby, et al.

, 2011; Klein, 2010). The World Health Organization institutional rankings put NHS among the best healthcare systems worldwide (Herring, 2012). This paper analyses the influential factors that have shaped the structural aspects of the National Health Service in modern Britain.With a divisive background where state owned hospitals, the general practitioners and community as well as the domiciliary healthcare based services functioned as independent statutory entities, a new approach towards a modernized system with regards to the provision of comprehensive and co-ordinated healthcare services was fast needed to replace the old order (Markwell, 2009).

The conception of the term “modern” denotes an era (1960s onwards) characterised by the adoption of a holistic frame of reference where traditional strategies were/are critically rethought over to capture the ever expanding consumer interest in a range of complementary healthcare approaches in the wake of a stronger wave of counter-culture (Daunton and Rieger, 2001). With industrialisation at hand, technology and political dynamics have played fundamental roles in directing policy shifts in conformity with a more demanding and ballooning populace.

According to the Guillebaud Report, the changing trends in health issues and illness, the need for harmonious working relationships between the general practitioners and public hospitals towards more efficient preventive mechanisms, and the need for adequate healthcare provision to the growing number of the elderly in their own homes were issues of concern that needed to be addressed if the country was indeed serious in meeting every justifiable healthcare demand of its citizenry (Markwell, 2009).

In fact, the impact of the growing numbers of the aging population on the NHS is indeed tremendous; the average public expenditure for retired households has nearly doubled that for non-retired households. The 2007/08 average value of NHS services for retired and non-retired population stood at £5,200 and £2,800 respectively; a clear indication of direct influence on the public budget (Cracknell, 2010). On another front, technology has been very crucial in the initiation of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programmes, which have not only had considerable impact in terms of knowledge generation but have also inspired policy shifts targeting quality services (Hanney, Buxton, Green, Coulson and Raftery, 2007).

Even with the expansive power of technology towards health services, health planning based on capital schemes in the 1960s and the “corporate” managerial approaches adopted in the 1970s seemed to have been working against efficiency prompting major reallocations of financial resources in the beginning of 1980s (DoH, 2006). With a growing dissatisfaction in the provision healthcare services, Patients and the Public at large were to be consulted (DoH, 2003). A number of reforms touching on the managerial aspects have so far been implemented.

The greatest impact to this new form of arrangement was the funding process. NHS is centrally funded out of the taxpayers’ purse, making the process a politically driven exercise with a study stream of funds for the execution of new ideas (The NHS in England, 2012). The reorganization of the funding process has enabled the implementation of a universal healthcare system; a system that has ensured that NHS and its ideals remains popular with people (Berridge, 2007). Another important factor that has been influential in the modernization of the National Health Service is politics.

Apart from being controlled by parliament via funding and regular audits, NHS is entity is headed by the secretary of state for health (Berridge, 2007). Its creation was a parliament driven exercise, which continues to dominate the reforms geared towards effective management. The adoption of The NHS Plan 2000, a joint endeavor by the NHS staff and the patients, as an investment reform program that lasted for a decade was one of the political initiatives that reformed the NHS (DoH, 2002). Other recent politically driven reforms include A Strategy for NHS Information Quality Assurance (DoH, 2004b) and the QOF-Quality and Outcomes Framework (DoH, 2004c) all geared towards a common objective of assured quality of care.

The current status of the National Health Service in Britain has been a product of a myriad of factors being brought together to achieve not only the most efficient but the best healthcare amongst the developed world. Courtesy of good political stewardship, Britain has managed to establish an integrative, universal and comprehensive health service which is free at the point of use for the vast majority of its people at far less cost and more efficiency compared to other advanced economies. Reference ListAppleby, J., Ham, C., Imison, C.

, Harrison, T., Boyle, S., Ashton, B. and Thompson, J., 2011. Improving Health and Health Care in London – Who will take the lead? London: The King’s Fund.Berridge,V., 2007. The NHS: what can we learn from history? [Online] The official website of BBC History Magazine. Available at: (Accessed 6 October 2012).Cracknell, R., 2010. Key Issues for the New Parliament. [Online] House of Commons Library. Available at: (Accessed 6 October 2012).Daunton, M. and Rieger, B., 2001. Meanings of Modernity: Britain in the Age of Imperialism and World Wars.

Oxford: Berg. Department of Health, 2002. Delivering the NHS Plan: next steps on investment next steps on Reform. London: Crown.Department of Health, 2003. Strengthening Accountability: Involving Patients and Public. London: DoH.Department of Health, 2004a. The NHS improvement plan: putting people at the heart of public services. London: Crown. Department of Health, 2004b. A Strategy for NHS Information Quality Assurance. London: HMSO.Department of Health, 2004c. OOF-Qualitv and Outcomes Framework.

London: HMSO.Department of Health, 2006. Financial Turnaround in the NHS: A Report from Richard Douglass, Finance Director to the Secretary of State. London: HMSO.Hanney, S., Buxton, M., Green, C., Coulson, D. and Raftery, J., 2007. An assessment of the impact of the NHS Health Technology Assessment Programme. Health Technology Assessment, 11(53), pp.1-200.Herring, J., 2012. Medical Law and Ethics. 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hewitt P., 2005. Labour’s values and the modern NHS.

Fabian Society Lecture. [Online]Available at: [Accessed 2 October 2012].Klein, R., 2010. The New Politics of the NHS: From creation to reinvention. Oxford: Radcliffe Publishing. Markwell, S., 2009. Health Service Development and Planning. [Online] HealthKnowledge. Available at: < http://www.healthknowledge.org.uk/public-health-textbook/organisation-management/5d-theory-process-strategy-development/health-service-development-planning> [Accessed 6 October 2012].The NHS in England, 2012. The NHS: About the NHS.

[Online] Available at: [Accessed 6 October 2012].

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“What are the most important factors that influence the National Health Essay”, n.d.)
What are the most important factors that influence the National Health Essay. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/nursing/1604351-what-are-the-most-important-factors-that-influence-the-national-health-service-in-modern-britain
(What Are the Most Important Factors That Influence the National Health Essay)
What Are the Most Important Factors That Influence the National Health Essay. https://studentshare.org/nursing/1604351-what-are-the-most-important-factors-that-influence-the-national-health-service-in-modern-britain.
“What Are the Most Important Factors That Influence the National Health Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/nursing/1604351-what-are-the-most-important-factors-that-influence-the-national-health-service-in-modern-britain.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF What are the most important factors that influence the National Health Service in Modern Britain

Health Models for the Youth

In the UK, the national health service (NHS) is the name of the public health service while the Department of Health (DOH) is the Government based organization entrusted with matters regarding public health policy.... This paper ''health Models for the Youth'' tells that Whether we like to state it or not, we often take our health for granted.... nbsp; It is therefore imperative that the youth of a society or a country be cared for under a national initiative like health policies for the youth....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

The impact of Japanisation, lean production and high performance work practices in the UK Workplace

In accordance with the above view, management practices in countries around the world are expected to present significant differences; however it has been proved in the literature and the empirical research that in modern workplace the practices followed by managers are similar; it's just the fact that this similarity is further increased when referring to firms established in the same country.... The above phenomenon can be explained by the fact that the above techniques have been proved to be particularly The effectiveness of these techniques in practice has led many managers internationally to adopt these techniques; in this way the so-called ‘japanisation' has become a common phenomenon within modern firms (referring to the management styles used throughout modern organizations)....
20 Pages (5000 words) Essay

A Major Health Problem in British Society and Improving Medical Service

The gradual shift was witnessed in British society which was reflected by the increasing concern of the policy makers towards promoting the health of the citizens.... In this regard, numerous policies were set towards ensuring the community engagement and promoting good health of the people within the country.... The healthcare professionals, government and non-government bodies, and healthcare institutions have a huge role and responsibilities to implement health policy among British society....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Factors That Led to the Formation of the First Labor Government

The paper "factors that Led to the Formation of the First Labor Government" states that people argued that the Conservative Party was not interested in improving the living standard of its citizens.... nbsp;… One of the factors that put the labor party in power was the need to streamline the pension sector and make funds available to the concerned parties.... During this time, the wages decreased in britain by close to a third.... The policy introduced by Conservative Party to address this important question was indecisive....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

The Second World War and British Society

This work "The Second World War and British Society" describes the impact of the Second World War on all aspects of life in britain.... It is clear about the housing and health in britain under the influence of all these events, the British government and its policies that could help people in britain to face effectively all the health problems.... In other words, the Second World War has created severe turbulences to the particular aspects of daily life in britain; however, these turbulences have not been similar across all social and economic sectors of the country....
11 Pages (2750 words) Coursework

Business of Healthcare: The National Health Service

"Business of Healthcare: the national health service" delves deeper into such aspects of the NHS as its structure, funding, and regulations pertaining to it and make an inference as to its strengths, weaknesses as well as identifying areas for improvement.... hellip; the national health service, which is a government-run public health care enterprise, is an important institution in Britain.... Both the Tory party and the New Labour Party have competed to claim the NHS as their own and no election campaign in britain is without numerous references to the benefits offered by the NHS....
9 Pages (2250 words) Case Study

In Today's Britain People Vote Less on Who They are than on What They Perceive

The study "In Today's britain People Vote Less On Who They Are then On What They Perceive" concerns the contemporary UK voter, valence intrinsic nature, and the leadership qualities of their party leader, other factors, that determine the reason people vote for a certain candidate.... rdquo; In the contemporary UK, issue proximity is very important....
11 Pages (2750 words) Coursework

What is the State of Britain

At current rates of spending and taxation, a significant portion of the national revenue is blocked by the government.... This paper "What is the State of britain" discusses the concept of the 'State of britain' with reference to the notions of the public sector, civic culture, and globalism.... hellip; The state of britain is fixated with the past.... By focusing on national sovereignty, the state of britain has moderated economic depression by sustaining a decisive connection with the past....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us