Change and the NHS workforce : ambivalence, anxiety and anger

Ball, E; Regan, P

Abstract

Working in a healthcare system defined by change necessitates, at the least, some degree of intermittent observation. Being commited to change to ensure delivery of 21st century care asks for much more. It means trusting and believing in change. Yet sometimes change in the National Health Service evokes amongst staff a view that reforms are not always thought through from implementation to evaluation, and are determined by overriding political agendas which results in NHS users are exhibiting an ambivalent or anxious response to change measures (Wallace & Taylor-Gooby 2009). As a result, implementation can be hampered; and impacts further when a sense of mistrust is inculcated within an institution and change is viewed skeptically (Greener & Martin Powell 2008). This is not helped when reform from 2007-2009 came with job freezes and financial budgeting deficits, rather than reform to improve quality (Peters 2009; Craig & Adams 2007). Such strategies may or may-not have long-term cost effective outcomes, but what worries practitioners is that a reduction in the provision of services made available to patients might ensue (White 2008). It is feared that the tension between quality and budgeting constraints will only increase in the current climate. It is therefore timely that change is debated when reform frameworks and market-style initiatives are in such proliferation.

Citation

Ball, E., & Regan, P. (2010). Change and the NHS workforce : ambivalence, anxiety and anger. Nurse Education in Practice, 10(3), 113-114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2010.01.001

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Feb 12, 2010
• Deposit Date: Jul 21, 2010
• Journal: Nurse Education in Practice
• Print ISSN: 1471-5953
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 113-114
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2010.01.001
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2010.01.001
• Related Public URLs: http://www.nurseeducationinpractice.com/