Governance and Public Involvement in the British National Health Service: Understanding Difficulites and Developments

Callaghan, G.; Wistow, G.

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.05.023

Governance and Public Involvement in the British National Health Service: Understanding Difficulites and Developments

Callaghan, G.; Wistow, G.

Authors

G. Callaghan

G. Wistow

Abstract

The article considers the role of public involvement in the British National Health Service in the context of the wider shift from government to governance. Based on a comparative case study, it identifies different outcomes from a single policy initiative in two localities. It argues, following Jessop, that accounts of governance which rest on inter-organisational relationships are inadequate, and that we also need to look at inter-systemic and inter-personal levels for more complete explanations. Investigating the relationships between these levels, we derive an account of governance within which to situate the role of public involvement. It is against this background that we focus on why the methods of involvement deserve greater attention for their substantive contribution to its quality and effectiveness.

Citation

Callaghan, G., & Wistow, G. (2006). Governance and Public Involvement in the British National Health Service: Understanding Difficulites and Developments. Social Science & Medicine, 63(9), 2289-2300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.05.023

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	2006-11
Deposit Date	Aug 7, 2008
Publicly Available Date	Aug 7, 2008
Journal	Social science and medicine
Print ISSN	0277-9536
Publisher	Elsevier
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	63
Issue	9
Pages	2289-2300
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.05.023
Keywords	Participation, Public involvement, Citizenship, Governance, Primary care trust, UK.