Modernising the NHS: Challenges to the health services: the professions

Re‐Organizing Work Roles in Health Care: Evidence from the Implementation of Functional Flexibility

“…Previous research has identified the difficulties associated with implementing functional flexibility in professionalized health-care organizations (Allen, 2000;Arrowsmith and Sisson, 2002;Leverment, Ackerson and Preston, 1998;Smith, 2003). These case studies indicated that functional flexibility does work and that it is accepted by the majority of staff, although it is not without its difficulties.…”

“…This was not focused on the dangers of de-skilling but on criticism of other professions with which they worked, who might be tempted to pass on extra responsibilities to medical staff as a result of flexible working arrangements and unclear working roles. Allen (2000) has argued for more flexible training and working within the medical profession, although she acknowledges the challenges posed by doctors delegating responsibility for patients to other health-care staff. For this to happen, it is argued, doctors need to feel secure that those patients are going to be treated safely.…”

Understanding the motivation: a qualitative study of dental students’ choice of professional career

“…A recognised shortage of the dentist workforce (12, 28, 29) has been addressed in the short term by international recruitment and for the longer term by increasing student numbers (12). Research amongst doctors would suggest that professional expectations are changing, with further implications for workforce capacity; system reform is therefore advocated if they are to be retained within the service (30–34). This will also be an issue for the dental profession.…”

Digital Imagery and Child Embodiment in Paediatric Genetics: Sources and Relationships of Meaning

“…In contemporary medicine the assumed power of medicalisation has been undermined by changes in the organisation of healthcare (Ackroyd, 1996; Allen, 2000) and patient attitudes (Prior, 2003), which have challenged medical authority and countered the medical gaze with alternative ways of perceiving and knowing the body. Nevertheless, new forms of visualisation within medicine are still thought to have privileged status, particularly those technologies able to identify illness before it becomes symptomatic (Griffiths et al, 2010; Reventlow et al, 2006).…”