01.02.12
NHS Scotland a ‘model’ for public sector
The NHS in Scotland could serve as a model for reform throughout the public sector, a new independent report suggests.
Nottingham University Business School analysed the effectiveness of NHS Scotland’s approach to industrial relations and found that it was had effective way of working.
Its analysis showed that the NHS engaged staff fully, developed partnership agreements at national and board level to ensure that all levels of the organisation have a common agenda.
The report concludes that the health service north of the border represents a “leading-edge example” and offers “important lessons” for public services throughoutBritain.
Study co-author Dr Peter Samuel said: “Effective partnership working requires the development of a shared aim and an agreed approach on the way forward. Partnership in the NHS inEnglandandWalesis also built on a shared commitment to high-quality patient care, but partnership in NHS Scotland is unique.
“That’s because from an early stage it was also based on a strong consensus over the organisational structure that would best deliver the NHS’s founding principles.
“As a result, in our view, partnership in NHS Scotland has grown into probably the most ambitious and important contemporary innovation in British public sector relations.”
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