The English National Health Service: 1979-2005

This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data

The English National Health Service: 1979-2005

Author Info

Adam Oliver (LSE Health and Social Care, London School of Economics, London, UK)

Abstract

This article aims to assess the development of the English National Health Service (NHS) over the period 1979-2005, against the original, and often repeated, core objectives of the system: that it be universal in offering coverage to all members of the population in times of health care need; that it be comprehensive in its provision of health care services; and that it be (largely) free at the point of use. Comprehensiveness is open to interpretation, and may depend upon the wealth of the nation. Universality and (largely) free care at the point of use, which lend themselves to the principle of equal access for equal need, are more concrete, and it is not difficult to ascertain if they have been substantially and|or systematically violated. The article details briefly the developments in resource allocation, provider payment mechanisms, incentives and accountability, and notes that much of the emphasis on health sector change since the mid 1980s has been placed upon improving supply side efficiency and reducing waiting lists|times. Improving NHS efficiency, and indeed related aspirations associated with choice and health outcomes, can be perceived as 'secondary' objectives, in that they should not serve to undermine the core objectives of the system, assuming that the security offered by having an accessible, universal health care system is considered worthy of protection. The overall conclusion is that the NHS has performed quite well against its core objectives to date, although it is possible that the current preoccupation with choice and health outcomes will lead us down a different policy path in the future. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

Publisher Info
Article provided by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. in its journal Health Economics.

Volume (Year): 14 (2005)
Issue (Month): S1 ()
Pages: S75-S99
Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:14:y:2005:i:s1:p:s75-s99

Contact details of provider:
Web page: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jhome/5749

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Christopher F. Baum).

Related research
Keywords:

Other versions of this item:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

Peter C. Smith, 2003. "Formula Funding of Public Services: An Economic Analysis," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 19(2), pages 301-322, Summer.
Diane Dawson & Rowena Jacobs & Steve Martin & Peter Smith, 2004. "Is Patient Choice an Effective Mechanism to Reduce Waiting Times?," Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Wolters Kluwer Health | Adis, vol. 3(4), pages 195-203. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Amartya Sen, 2002. "Why health equity?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 11(8), pages 659-666. [Downloadable!]
Eddy van Doorslaer & Xander Koolman, 2004. "Explaining the differences in income-related health inequalities across European countries," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(7), pages 609-628. [Downloadable!]
Peter C. Smith & Nigel Rice & Roy Carr-Hill, 2001. "Capitation funding in the public sector," Journal Of The Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 164(2), pages 217-257. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
van Doorslaer, Eddy & Wagstaff, Adam & van der Burg, Hattem & Christiansen, Terkel & De Graeve, Diana & Duchesne, Inge & Gerdtham, Ulf-G & Gerfin, Michael & Geurts, Jose & Gross, Lorna, 2000. "Equity in the delivery of health care in Europe and the US," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 553-583, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
repec:rus:hseeco:124076 is not listed on IDEAS
Matsaganis, Manos & Glennerster, Howard, 1994. "The threat of 'cream skimming' in the post-reform NHS," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 31-60, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Eddy van Doorslaer & Xander Koolman & Andrew M. Jones, 2004. "Explaining income-related inequalities in doctor utilisation in Europe," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(7), pages 629-647. [Downloadable!]

Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

Joanne Castonguay & Claude Montmarquette & Claude Castonguay & Iain Scott, 2007. "Analyse comparative sur le financement de la santé," CIRANO Project Reports 2007rp-04, CIRANO. [Downloadable!]
Gugushvili, Alexi, 2007. "The advantages and disadvantages of needs-based resource allocation in integrated health systems and market systems of health care provider reimbursement," MPRA Paper 3354, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]

Statistics

Access and download statistics

Did you know? RePEc encourages publishers to make their bibliographic data freely available to the public.

This page was last updated on 2009-12-13.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.