Modernising the NHS, Challenges to the health services: the professions
In the fourth of seven BMJ articles on the modernising of the NHS, Isobel Allen, Professor of health and social policy at the Policy Studies Institute, London, looks at the third of five challenges set out by the prime minister surrounding more flexible working practices and less demarcation.
Professor Allen points to a number of key areas for the modernisation action team to address. These include listening and acting on what the workforce says, introducing more flexible working and training, and encouraging those who are committed to leading the modernisation drive. Professor Allen argues that health professionals are "ready to change" but that they must be offered the means to implement it. In a traditionally rigid working environment that has been slow to embrace change, the first and crucial challenge for the government will be to acknowledge doctors' commitment and the vital role they play within the service.
However, there is a risk of pushing the challenges too far, warns Professor Allen, causing practitioners to lose sight of their caring role. The challenge to the health service and the government, concludes the author, "is to balance the commitment and motivation of people who want to care with the demands of people who want to live forever."
Contact: Isobel Allen, Professor of health and social policy, Policy Studies Institute, London NW1 3SR Email: i.allen@psi.org.uk